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PRINCETON,    N.    J. 


BX  5995  .T87  A3  1863 
Turner,  Samuel  Hulbeart, 

1790-1861. 
Autobiography  of  the  Rev 

Samuel  H.  Turner.  D.D. 


AUTOBIO  GR  APHY 


OF  THE 


REV.  SAMUEL  H.  TURNER,  D.D., 


LATE 


PROFESSOR  OF  BIBLICAL  LEARNING  AND   THE 
INTERPRETATION   OF   SCRIPTURE 


IN   THE 


GENERAL  THEOLOGICAL   SEMINARY   OF  THE   PROTESTANT 

EPISCOPAL   CHURCH  IN  THE  UNITED   STATES 

OF  AMERICA. 


NEW-YORK  : 
A.   D.  F.  RANDOLPH,  683   BROADWAY. 

1863. 


CONTENTS. 


♦  •  • 


Preface, ix 

CHAPTER    I. 

Design  of  the  Writer — Parentage — Early  Associates — Studies — 
College  Course — Choice  of  a  Profession — Visit  to  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Feltus — Its  Effect  upon  his  Mind — He  becomes  a  Communi- 
cant in  St.  Paul's  Church,  Philadelphia,  under  the  ministry  of 
Dr.  Pilmore — Influence  of  Religious  Books — Studies  for  the 
Ministry  under  Bishop  White — Text-books  Employed — Adopts 
the  Views  of  Stillingfleet,  Hooker  and  White  in  regard  to 
Church  Polity — Avidity  in  Study — Mistakes  Corrected — He- 
brew and  Greek  Studies, 9-33 

CHAPTER    II. 

Ordination — Revisits  Dr.  Feltus — Succeeds  the  Rev.  Wm.  H.  Wil- 
mer  in  Chestertown,  Maryland — First  Sermon  there — Letter 
from  Judge  Chambers  respecting  the  "I.  U.  Church" — Cha- 
racter and  Extent  of  his  Labors — The  Haunted  House — Pa- 
rochial Visiting — Labors  among  the  Blacks — Weekly  Lec- 
tures— Sermon-Writing — Theological,  Ecclesiastical,  and  Bibli- 
cal Studies — Latin  and  Greek  Classics,  and  Hebrew  Language 
— Best  Mode  of  Learning  Ancient  Languages— Important 
Principle  in  the  Composition  of  Sermons — Pioneer  in  the 
Sunday-School  Work — Election  of  Bishop  Kemp — War  with 
England — Fight  near  Chestertown,  .        .         .         34-56 


IV  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    III. 

Pernicious  Effects  of  Climate  and  Slavery — He  is  offered  a  Pro- 
fessorship at  Annapolis — Leaves  Chestertown — Call  to  Ger- 
mantown,  Pa. — St.  Ann's,  Brooklyn — Elizabeth,  New-Jersey 
— Rev.  Dr.  Bowen — Grace  Church,  New- York — Dr.  Jarvis — 
Return  to  Philadelphia — Visits  Chestertown,  "Washington,  and 
various  places  in  Virginia,  returning  by  Central  Pennsylvania — 
His  Mother's  Death — Her  Character — Historical  and  Theologi- 
cal Studies — Labors  in  Philadelphia — Trinity  Church  the  Re- 
sult— Preached  the  Opening  Sermon,         .         .         .       57-69 

CHAPTER    IV. 

Appointed  Superintendent  of  the  Theological  School  in  Phila- 
delphia— Bishop  Alonzo  Potter  his  first  Pupil — Translation  of 
"Bochart's  Phaleg" — A  General  Theological  Seminary  Pro- 
posed in  the  General  Convention — Measures  Taken  for  its  Es- 
tablishment— History  of  its  Formation  and  Organization — 
Mr.  Turner  Elected  Professor  of  "Historic  Theology"  — 
Charged  Temporarily  with  the  Duties  of  the  Professor  of  Sys- 
tematic Theology — Dr.  C.  C.  Moore's  Gift  to  the  Seminary  — 
Rev.  Dr.  Gadsden's  "Statement  for  the  Seminary" — South- 
Carolina  its  Originator — The  Error  of  the  Bishop  of  Oxford  in 
ascribing  it  to  the  Influence  of  Bishop  Hobart — First  Stu- 
dents in  the  Seminary — Professor  Turner's  Course  of  Instruc- 
tion,                 70-85 

CHAPTER    V. 

Indifference  of  Bishop  Hobart  and  leading  New -York  Clergy- 
men to  the  Seminary  —  Proof  of  Want  of  Interest  —  Difficult- 
ies with  Professor  Jarvis — Professor  Turner's  Views  on  certain 
points  of  Theology  not  in  Harmony  with  those  of  Bishop  Ho- 
bart— The  Seminary  removed  to  New-Haven — Bishop  Brown- 
ell's  Remarks  in  regard  to  it  —  The  Seminary  organized  on  a 

v  New  Plan — Open  to  Students  of  all  Religious  Denominations — 
Incidents  of  the  Summer's  Vacation— Introductory  Discourse 
at  New  -  Haven  —  Varied  and   Pleasant  Duties  in  the  Semi- 


CONTENTS.  V 

nary— Its  Patrons  and  Friends— His  Father's  Death— Sketch 
of  his  Life, 86-111 

CHAPTER    VI. 

A  Diocesan  Theological  School  established  in  New-York,  at  the 
Instance  of  Bishop  Hobart— Jacob  Sherred's  Legacy— A  Spe- 
cial General  Convention  called  to  consider  it  —  The  Seminary 
restored  to  New- York — United  with  the  Diocesan  School  under 
a  New  Organization— Reorganization  of  the  Seminary  —  First 
Critical  Publication— South-Carolina  Trustees  suggest  a  Semi- 
nary-Building—Bishop White's  Remarks  on  laying  the  Corner- 
stone—Professor  Turner's  Marriage  —  Progress  and  Character 
of  the  Seminary  Buildings— Study  of  the  French  and  German 
Languages — Revision  of  our  Church  Psalmody  and  Hymns — 
Translation  of  "Jahn's  Introduction,"  with  Notes  —  Birth  of 
his  First  Child  —  Establishment  of  Public  Worship  at  the 
Seminary— Formation  of  a  Sunday-School— St.  Peter's  Church 
grows  out  of  these  Labors — Studies  in  Ancient  and  Modern 
Languages,  and  in  Rabbinical  Writings— Dr.  Nordheimer, 

112-132 

CHAPTER   VII. 

Clerical  Association  in  New-York— Object  of  it  —  Constitution 
—Bishop  Hobart's  Attack  upon  it  — Dr.  Turner's  Reply-- 
The  Course  pursued  by  the  Members  —  Erroneous  Impres- 
sions— Essays,  etc.,  in  Biblical  Literature,        .        .    133-168 

• 

CHAPTER   VIII. 

Elected  Professor  of  Hebrew  Language  in  Columbia  College — 
Lectures  in  the  College  Chapel — Their  Publication — Discour- 
agements—  Death  of  his  Daughter  —  Translation  and  Pub- 
lication of  Professor  Planck's  Introduction  to  Theological 
Knowledge,  with  Notes  —  Birth  of  his  first  Son  —  Peter  G. 
Stuyvesant's  Endowment  of  a  Professorship  in  the  Semina- 
ry —  Death  of  Mrs.  Turner  —  Publication  of  "  Companion  to 
the  Book  of  Genesis"— Object  of  the  Work— Criticisms  of  two 
Church  Papers, 169-183 


VI  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

History  of  the  Seminary — New-York  City  an  Unfavorable  Loca- 
tion— Effects  of  the  Doctrines  of  the  Oxford  Tracts  and  their 
kindred  Usages  —  Conflicting  Views  with  regard  to  them  — 
Suggestion  of  the  Examining  Committee  —  Dissent  of  Drs. 
Anthon  and  Smith,  in  the  Committee  —  Professor  Turner's 
Reply  to  the  Implied  Censure — The  true  Place  and  Value  of 
the  Early  Fathers  in  the  Exposition  of  Scripture — A  Proposi- 
tion to  the  Trustees — Resolutions  of  the  South-Carolina  Con- 
vention—  Unfavorable  Rumors  in  regard  to  the  Seminary — 
Report  of  the  South-Carolina  Committee — Singular  Questions 
propounded  to  the  Faculty — Episcopal  Visitation  of  the  Semi- 
nary —  Professor  Turner's  Answers  —  Communication  from 
Bishop  Mcllvaine — Christmas  Novelties — Apostasies  to  Rome 

—  Professor  Turner's  Resistance  to  Novelties  —  The  Attempt 
of  "The  Churchman"  to  Ridicule  his  Published  Statement  of 
Facts — "Records  of  Councils" — Its  Ignorance  and  Indecency 

—  Resolutions  of  the  Visiting  Bishops  —  The  Real  Value  of 
their  Opinion — Romanism  among  the  Students — Secret  Plans 
for  Propagating  it — Action  of  the  Faculty — Expulsions  from 
the  Seminary — The  Expelled  Students  Ordained  in  New-York, 
North-Carolina  and  Maryland  —  Further  Apostasies  to  Rome 
— Influences  Outside  of  the  Seminary — The  Errors  and  Cant 
Phrases  of  the  Times  —  Characters  most  easily  led  astray  — 
The  Responsibility  of  those  who  Recommend  Candidates  for 
Orders  —  Resignation  of  Professors  Wilson  and  Moore — Pro- 
fessor Ogilby's  Death  —  Appointment  of  Professor  Johnson 
and  Mahan, 184-213 

CHAPTER   X. 

Serious  Personal  Injury — Record  of  Publications—"  Essay  on  our 
Lord's  Discourse  at  Capernaum" — "Biographical  Notices  of 
Jewish  Rabbis" — Dr.  Murdock's  opinion  of  the  Work — "Spir- 
itual Things  Compared  with  Spiritual" — Reply  to  Strictures 
upon  the  Publication — Two  Discourses  on  the  Rule  of  Faith — 
A  Volume  on  Prophecy — The  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  in  Greek 


CONTENTS.  Vii 

and  English — The  Epistle  to  the  Romans  in  Greek  and  Eng- 
lish—The Epistle  to  the  Ephesians  in  Greek  and  English — The 
Epistle  to  the  Galatians  in  Greek  and  English,        .     214-234 

CHAPTER    XL 

Plain-Song  in  the  Seminary — Mr.  Hopkins — Pastoral  Care  of 
the  Students — The  American  Bible  Society — His  Relation 
to  it — The  Standard  Bible — The  Fortieth  Anniversary  of  his 
Professorship — Sketch  of  Dr.  Wilson — General  Review, 

235-266 
CHAPTER    XII. 

EDITORIAL     CONCLUSION. 

Death — Funeral — Bishop  Potter's  Address — Notices  of  the  Press 
— Resolution  of  various  Committees,  etc.,        .        .    267-292 


PEEFACE. 


■+-++- 


The  following  autobiography  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Turner 
does  not  contain  all  the  important  events  of  his  life, 
much  less  does  it  present  the  striking  features  of  his 
character.  As  a  memoir,  a  delineation  of  the  whole 
man,  or  as  a  history,  it  is  incomplete. 

The  main  design  of  the  writer  was,  to  leave  for  his 
family,  a  memorial  of  the  principles  which  governed  his 
conduct,  and  of  those  events  which  would  be  especially 
interesting  to  them ;  and  to  furnish  an  authentic  record 
of  such  facts  connected  with  his  official  and  public  life 
as  he  deemed  particularly  important  to  the  truth  of 
history,  the  cause  of  the  Gospel  and  of  sacred  learning. 

The  work  of  the  editor  has  been  limited  to  the  break- 
ing up  of  the  narrative  into  chapters,  preparing  suitable 
headings,  appending  a  few  pages  at  the  conclusion,  and 
superintending  the  progress  of  the  book  through  the 
press. 

For  several  years  he  has  enjoyed  the  friendship  of 
the  lamented  author,  and  regards  it  a  special  privilege 


X  PREFACE. 

and  honor  to  be  connected  with  the  publication  of  this 
sketch  of  his  life. 

May  the  illustrious  example  of  one  so  gifted,  quietly  and 
unostentatiously  prosecuting  his  arduous  work,  employ- 
ing with  marked  diligence  and  devotion  the  many  talents 
committed  to  his  trust,  adhering  through  a  protracted 
life  so  inflexibly  to  the  "  old  paths "  of  truth,  and,  by 
his  life  and  conversation,  adorning  the  doctrine  of  God 
his  Saviour,  incite  others,  and  especially  those  who,  as 
learners,  were  privileged  to  sit  at  his  feet,  to  follow 
him  even  as  he  followed  Christ. 

E.  H.  C. 

Brooklyn,  May  6t7i,  1863. 


AUTOBIOGEAPHY 


OF  THE 


REV.  SAMUEL  H.  TURNER,  D.D. 


CHAPTER    I. 

Design  of  the  "Writer — Parentage — Early  Associates — Studies — 
College  Course — Choice  of  a  Profession — Visit  to  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Feltus — Its  Effect  upon  his  Mind — He  becomes  a  Communi- 
cant in  St.  Paul's  Church,  Philadelphia,  under  the  ministry  of 
Dr.  Pilmore — Influence  of  Religious  Books — Studies  for  the 
Ministry  under  Bishop  White — Text-books  Employed — Adopts 
the  Views  of  Stillingfleet,  Hooker  and  White  in  regard  to 
Church  Polity — Avidity  in  Study — Mistakes  Corrected — He- 
brew and  Greek  Studies. 

The  following  notice  of  some  particulars  of 
my  life  is  committed  to  writing  in  the  belief 
that  my  children  will  feel  an  interest  in  a  brief 
sketch  of  their  father's  biography,  however  im- 
perfect, and  in  the  hope  that  they  will  not  fail 
to  trace  the  hand  of  Divine  Providence  in  di- 
recting and  moulding  apparently  incidental  cir- 
cumstances, so  as  to  promote  His  own  wise  and 
1* 


10  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

benevolent  purposes.  With  the  exception  of 
what  peculiarly  constitutes  the  Gospel  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  is  essentially  connected 
with  the  plan  of  redemption  through  Him,  the 
only  Mediator,  there  is  no  principle  more  satis- 
factory, and  in  its  influence  on  human  character 
and  action  more  practical}  than  that  which  re- 
cognizes the  agency  of  God  in  all  events  of  life, 
however  seemingly  unimportant.  The  exercise 
of  a  steady  and  habitual  faith  in  this  doctrine 
will  enable  a  man  to  submit  with  acquiescence 
at  least,  if  not  with  cheerfulness,  to  the  dispen- 
sations of  Heaven,  and  to  trust  the  universal 
Ruler  even  when  His  arrangements  appear  to  be 
at  variance  with  His  general  course  of  kindness, 
confident  that  the  result  will  afford  evidence 
both  of  His  wisdom  and  also  of  His  benevo- 
lence. 

I  was  born  on  the  twenty-third  of  January, 
1790,  in  the  house  of  my  father,  the  Rev.  Joseph 
Turner,  No.  370  South  Second  Street,  in  the  Dis- 
trict of  Southwark,  Philadelphia.  My  mother, 
whose  name  was  Elizabeth  Mason,  was  the 
daughter  of  a  physician  of  Devonshire,  England, 
of  which  country  my  father  also  was  a  native. 
The  mansion  was  built  by  his  uncle,  Philip 
Hulbeart,  who  occupied  it  as  his  country-seat  a 
long  time  before  the  revolutionary  war.     The 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  '  11 

gradual  increase  of  the  city  soon  brought  the 
dwelling  within  the  limits  of  regular  streets, 
numerous  houses,  and  a  considerable  popula- 
tion ;  although,  when  I  was  a  boy,  there  were 
extensive  fields  in  the  vicinity,  some  of  which 
were  under  cultivation,  and  others,  lying  low, 
were  covered  with  water,  affording,  in  winter, 
fine  skating-places.  The  house  was  solidly 
built  of  brick,  and  was  occupied  by  the  family 
for  more  than  one  hundred  years.  My  father 
always  retained  a  large  space  of  ground  in  two 
divisions,  which  were  respectively  appropriated 
to  flower  and  vegetable  gardens.  The  cultiva- 
tion of  these  he  superintended  himself,  an  em- 
ployment which  was  a  source  of  great  gratifica- 
tion to  him  even  in  advanced  age.  His  early  veg- 
etables, fine  fruit  of  various  kinds,  particularly 
cherries,  and  beautiful  display  of  roses,  and 
other  flowers,  were,  in  the  beginning  of  sum- 
mer, a  general  attraction  to  the  neighborhood. 
Among  the  earliest  recollections  of  my  child- 
hood are  his  faithful  black  dog,  Bull,  a  necessary 
guard,  especially  during  the  long  winter  nights, 
and  a  sorrel  horse,  Jack,  which  for  twenty  years 
carried  him  in  his  chaise,  to  his  country  church- 
es, and  was  a  well-trained  and  sagacious  fa- 
vorite. 

I  was  the  youngest  of  eight  children,  three 


12  '  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

sons  and  five  daughters.  My  eldest  brother, 
after  whom  I  received  my  first  name,  died  be- 
fore I  was  born,  and  the  other,  named  after  his 
parents  Joseph  Mason,  who  was  two  and  a  half 
years  older  than  myself,  died  at  abont  the  age 
of  twenty-two.  At  the  time  of  my  birth  my 
father  was  forty-eight  years  old.  He  died  on 
the  twenty- sixth  of  July,  1821,  at  the  age  of 
seventy-nine. 

Of  the  period  of  my  childhood  I  have  noth- 
ing of  much  consequence  to  relate.  I  remem- 
ber showing  my  copy-book  to  my  father's  old 
friend,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Blackwell,  one  summer 
afternoon,  in  1796,  and  about  the  same  time 
being  called  up  in  Mr.  Little's  school,  that  my 
father,  who  happened  to  make  a  visit  there, 
misfht  hear  me  read  in  the  New  Testament. 
The  portion  selected  was  the  first  part  of  the 
thirteenth  chapter  of  St.  Mark,  and  I  well  re- 
collect how  strange  and  incomprehensible  the 
statement  in  the  second  verse  appeared  to  me.  I 
could  not  see  how  "  one  stone"  should  "  not  be 
left  upon  another,"  and  yet  should  "not  be 
thrown  down."  I  remember  having  been  ill 
with  the  yellow  fever  in  1798,  when  all  our 
family  except  our  parents  suffered  with  the  dis- 
ease. The  only  particulars  which  I  can  call  to 
mind  are,  that  the  attack  commenced  at  night, 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  13 

with  a  violent  chill  and  pains  in  the  back  and 
head,  and  that  at  some  period  of  the  sickness 
my  father  spoke  to  me  about  dying,  and  pre- 
paration for  another  world,  from  which  I  infer 
that  I  must  have  been  seriously  ill.  A  servant- 
girl  died  of  the  complaint  in  our  house,  also 
Mr.  George  Keppele,  who  within  a  year  before 
had  been  married  to  my  sister  Ann.  I  men- 
tion as  a  very  remarkable  fact,  that  although 
our  own  family  physician,  Dr.  Pfeiffer,  a  Ger- 
man of  the  Moravian  Church,  was  too  unwell 
to  leave  his  house,  my  father  being  obliged  to 
visit  him 'daily  and  report  our  respective  cases, 
and  bring  home  his  prescriptions,  yet  all  his 
patients,  with  the  exception  of  the  servant 
before  alluded  to,  recovered  of  that  deadly 
distemper.  Mr  Keppele  had  the  personal  at- 
tendance of  another  physician.  The  doctor's 
son,  who  not  long  after  became  a  medical  stu- 
dent in  Philadelphia,  gave  evidence  of  more 
than  ordinary  ability  and  industry,  and  would 
no  doubt  have  become  distinguished  in  his  pro- 
fession had  he  not  been  cut  off  by  an  early 
death. 

My  first  Latin  teacher  was  the  Kev.  John 
Melancthon  Bradford.  He  was  a  nephew  of 
the  venerable  Dr.  Ashbel  Green,  at  that  time 
a  celebrated  Presbyterian  clergyman  in  Phila- 


14  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

delphia,  and  afterwards  President  of  Princeton 
College.  He  was  also  the  father  of  Alexander 
"W.  Bradford,  LL.D.,  the  able  jurist  who  is  now 
Surrogate  of  New-York.  He  became  a  clergy- 
man of  the  Dutch  Church,  and  settled  in  Al- 
bany. On  his  leaving  the  city  I  was  put  un- 
der the  care  of  Mr.  James  Thompson,  who  two 
or  three  years  afterwards  became  Professor  of 
Languages  in  the  University  of  Pennsylvania. 
He  taught  in  the  Quaker  Academy  in  Fourth 
street  near  Chestnut,  which  at  that  time  was 
one  of  the  best  Latin  schools  in  the  city.  The 
whole  time  was  devoted  to  the  ancient  lan- 
guages, except  half  an  hour  employed  in  writ- 
ing a  copy  and  listening  to  a  chapter  in  the 
Bible  read  by  all  the  scholars  in  rotation. 
The  morning  was  spent  in  reciting ;  one  lesson 
in  Greek  or  Latin  Grammar ;  one  in  Caesar, 
Sallust,  or  Virgil,  and  I  think  after  the  study 
of  Greek  was  begun,  we  had  another  in  the 
Gospel  of  St.  John,  or  Lucian.  A  single  les-, 
son  in  some  one  of  these  authors  occupied  the 
afternoon.  The  Academy  was  patronized  by 
some  of  the  best  families.  Dallas,  now  our 
minister  at  the  Court  of  St.  James,  was  one  of 
its  pupils.  The  late  Thomas  I.  Wharton,  well 
known  and  esteemed  as  a  highly  respectable 
member  of  the  Philadelphia  bar,  was  one  of 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  15 

my  class-mates.  We  entered  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania  in  January,  1806,  and  graduated 
together  on  July  twenty-third,  1807,  when  I  was 
exactly  seventeen  and  a  half  years  old.  Our 
whole  collegiate  period  did  not  exceed  eighteen 
months.  The  University  was  at  that  time  in  a 
very  depressed  condition.  There  were  then 
but  two  classes,  the  Junior  and  -the  Senior. 
Although  I  entered  the  former  at  nearly  its 
middle  period,  I  had  so  far  forgotten  my  arith- 
metic that  I  was  obliged  to  begin  with  reduc- 
tion or  the  rule  of  three.  The  course  was  ne- 
cessarily very  imperfect,  although  the  institu- 
tion commanded  the  services  of  some  very  able 
men,  especially  the  literary  and  classical  Dr. 
Andrews,  Vice-Provost,  and  the  elder  Dr. 
Patterson,  distinguished  for  his  knowledge 
of  mathematics  and  philosophy.  The  learn- 
ed John  McDowell,  LL.D.,  entered  upon  his 
duties  as  Provost  only  a  few  months  before 
I  left.  He  used  to  say  that  Bishop  White  and 
Dr.  James  Wilson  were  the  two  clergymen 
whom  he  habitually  heard  with  satisfaction. 

Our  mathematical  studies  comprehended  the 
elements  of  algebra,  the  first  four  books  of 
Euclid,  plane  and  spherical  trigonometry,  sur- 
veying, gauging,  and  navigation.  Some  of  the 
class,  I  think,  learned  conic  sections.     I  know 


16  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

that  I  copied  out  the  elements  of  this  branch, 
but  never  studied  the  subject.  One  member, 
Mr.  Joseph  Hall,  son  of  a  former  Governor  of 
Delaware,  who  was  decidedly  head  of  the  class, 
rose  above  us  all  into  the  regions  of  fluxions ; 
but  I  believe  he  soared  alone  in  this  high  at- 
mosphere of  mathematics.  Chemistry,  miner- 
alogy, and  other  similar  branches,  were  entirely 
ignored.  A  slight  course  of  mechanics,  hy- 
draulics, hydrostatics,  optics,  and  astronomy 
constituted  the  sum  of  our  instruction  in  natu- 
ral philosophy.  In  moral,  Beattie's  Elements 
was  the  only  text-book ;  in  history,  the  Abbe 
Millot ;  in  rhetoric  and  logic,  Dr.  Andrews's 
Compends.  Our  Latin  reading  embraced  Hor- 
ace, Cicero's  Orations  and  De  Officiis,  and  two 
or  three  Satires  of  Juvenal.  In  Greek  we  read 
some  Dialogues  of  Lucian,  two  books  of  the 
Cyropsedia,  three  of  Homer,  Epictetus,  and 
some  portions  of  Longinus.  I  never  wrote  a 
page  of  English  composition  either  at  school 
or  college.  The  oration  which  I  delivered  at 
Commencement  was  furnished  by  a  friend ; 
and  about  two  weeks  afterwards  I  had  the 
gratification  of  seeing  it  in  a  periodical  some 
three  or  four  months  old ! 

I  left  college  without  any  determination  as 
to  my  future  course  of  life.     I  knew  that  my 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  17 

parents  were  desirous  that  I  should  devote 
myself  to  the  ministry.  But  they  never  made 
use  of  any  persuasion,  or  attempted  to  bias  my 
mind  towards  the  sacred  profession.  In  early 
youth  my  thoughts  and  feelings  were  often 
under  strong  religious  influence ;  and  I  remem- 
ber,  when  a  mere  child,  going  into  a  small 
closet  to  pray.  But  I  have  no  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  these  impressions  were  very  deep 
or  habitual  in  their  influence.  My  deport- 
ment had  always  been  morally  correct,  and  I 
had  a  good  deal  of  conscientiousness.  But 
when  the  question  of  the  choice  of  an  occu- 
pation or  profession  came  up  for  consideration, 
nty  mind  wavered,  and  I  became  very  unde- 
cided. I  can  not  say  that  I  felt  any  ardent, 
earnest  desire  to  make  known  to  others  the 
Gospel,  because  of  having  myself  experienced 
its  blessings.  In  this  doubtful  state  of  mind, 
I  was  at  one  time  strongly  inclined  to  study 
medicine  under  the  direction  of  Dr.  Benjamin 
Bush,  who  had  been  for  some  years  our  family 
physician,  and  had  repeatedly  prescribed  for 
frequent  indispositions,  to  which  in  early  life  I 
was  subject.  I  had  unfortunately  become  quite 
experienced  in  his  ten  or  twenty  grains'  pre- 
scriptions of  calomel  and  jalap,  taken  to  re- 
move some  trifling  ailment,  or  in  the  spring, 


18  AUTOBIOGKAPHY  OF 

when  I  was  enjoying  good  health,  to  keep  off 
the  enemy  who  was  supposed  to  be  insidiously 
lurking  in  ambush.  Happily  I  was  not  sub- 
jected to  bleeding  or  cupping;  though,  from 
frequent  observation,  I  became  familiar  enough 
with  the  former. 

While  thus  wavering  in  the  choice  of  a 
profession,  I  accepted  an  invitation  from  a 
clerical  friend  of  my  father  to  spend  a  week 
with  him  at  his  parsonage  in  Swedesborough, 
New- Jersey.  I  found  the  Kev.  Henry  J.  Fel- 
tus  very  kind  and  hospitable.  He  treated  me 
like  a  younger  brother,  or  rather  like  a  son. 
And  here  I  can  not  but  say  a  few  words  in  re- 
ference to  this  truly  pious  and  good  man,  4o 
whom  I  am  greatly  indebted.  Mr.  Feltus  was 
a  kind-hearted  and  devoted  pastor.  It  was 
evidently  his  great  object  to  do  good  among 
the  people  of  his  charge.  He  well  knew  how 
to  accommodate  himself  to  their  generally 
plain  habits  and  mode  of  living,  so  as  to  make 
his  association  with  them  practically  available 
to  their  spiritual  good.  He  was  exceedingly 
pleasant  in  his  private  intercourse,  told  a  story 
admirably,  and  relished  a  good  witticism  as 
well  as  any  man  I  ever  knew.  Although  his 
early  education  had  been  imperfect,  and  his  ac- 
quaintance with  literature  and  science  was  lim- 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  19 

ited,  yet  lie  had  evidently  read  much,  and  ac- 
quired considerable  information.  In  the  pulpit 
he  was  at  times  quite  eloquent — disposed,  how- 
ever, to  introduce  occasionally  some  show  of 
learning.  His  discourses  were  characterized 
by  sound  Scriptural  instruction,  and  an  evident 
desire  to  impress  religious  truths  upon  the  un- 
derstandings and  hearts  of  his  people.  He  was 
deservedly  much  respected  and  beloved.  I  be- 
came very  intimate  with,  and  greatly  attached 
to  him.  I  accompanied  him  on  some  of  his  pa- 
rochial visits.  One  occasion  of  this  kind  made 
a  strong  impression  on  my  mind.  Having 
made  his  personal  preparations,  in  doing  which 
it  was  his  habit  to  be  rather  particularly  atten- 
tive as  to  his  dress  and  appearance,  he  took  me 
into  his  study,  and,  after  locking  the  door,  kneel- 
ed down  and  offered  a  short  prayer  for  divine 
aid  and  guidance.  We  rode  to  the  houses  of 
several  of  his  parishioners,  some  of  whom  were 
hard-working,  industrious  poor ;  and  to  all  he 
had  some  religious  counsel,  or  instruction,  or 
exhortation  to  give,  generally  closing  his  pas- 
toral visit  with  a  short  and  fervent  prayer. 
The  tendency  of  his  mind  seemed  to  be  to  de- 
pend on  God  and  to  ask  His  aid.  On  another 
occasion,  a  walk  of  a  considerable  distance 
having  brought  us   into  a   deep   and  retired 


20  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

wood,  he  suddenly  stopped  short  and  said, 
a  Let  us  improve  this  scene ; "  and  kneeling 
down  among  the  thick  trees,  where  no  eye  of 
man  was  likely  to  observe  us,  he  poured  out  a 
prayer  to  the  "  Father  who  seeth  in  secret." 
He  was  fond  of,  and  slightly  acquainted  with, 
music.  I  spent  a  pleasant  and  profitable  week 
with  this  excellent  clergyman,  and  freely  open- 
ed my  mind  to  him  respecting  my  uncertainty 
as  to  the  profession  I  should  choose.  He  did 
not  advise  me  to  form  an  immediate  resolution 
to  enter  the  sacred  ministry,  knowing  that  this 
ought  to  be  the  result  of  a  conviction  of  duty 
arising  out  of  a  desire  to  make  known  the  Gos- 
pel as  the  only  method  of  salvation  for  sinners ; 
and,  considering  my  youth  and  inexperience, 
his  counsel  was,  to  begin  a  course  of  theologi- 
cal reading,  and  to  defer  any  determination  in 
the  matter  to  a  subsequent  period,  when  I 
should  be  better  able  than  I  was  at  that  time 
to  make  a  right  decision.  If  this  should  not  be 
in  favor  of  entering  upon  the  sacred  office,  the 
course  of  reading  pursued  would  yet  be  useful, 
and  I  should,  still  have  sufficient  time  to  make 
suitable  preparation  for  another  profession.  On 
my  return  home  I  took  his  advice,  and  adopted 
the  course  recommended. 

During  the  following  autumn  my  religious 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  21 

views  and  feelings  became  enlarged  and  deepen- 
ed. My  convictions  of  man's  natural  sinfulness, 
of  the  need  of  a  Redeemer  to  reconcile  sinful 
man  to  h&  Maker,  of  a  Divine  agency  to  turn 
the  heart  to  heavenly  things,  of  self-devotion 
to  God,  and  a  holy  life,  became  stronger ;  and 
I  pursued  my  theological  reading  with  a  direct 
view  to  ultimate  admission  into  the  ministry  of 
the  Church.  This  state  of  mind  was,  in  a  con- 
siderable degree,  promoted  by  the  conversation 
and  counsel  of  Mr.  George  Warner,  who  after- 
wards married  my  elder  sister,  the  widow  of 
Mr.  Keppele.  Mr.  Warner's  son,  a  married 
gentleman  with  three  children,  was  residing  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Philadelphia,  where  he 
had  gone  for  the  benefit  of  country  air  adapted 
to  his  condition.  He  was  gradually  sinking  in 
consumption,  of  which  disease  he  died  not  long 
after.  I  accompanied  Mr.  Warner  one  morn- 
ing, I  think  in  October,  to  the  sick  man's  resi- 
dence, and  for  the  first  time  partook  with  him 
of  the  holy  communion,  administered  by  the 
Eev.  Mr.  Feltus,  of  whom  Mr.  Warner  had 
been  an  old  friend  and  patron.  Afterwards  I 
became  a  communicant  in  St.  Paul's  Church,  to 
which  our  family  belonged  —  then  under  the 
charge  of  the  Rev.  Joseph  Pilmore,  D.D.,  who 
had  succeeded  Dr.  Samuel  Magaw  as  rector. 


22  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OP 

The  work  which  was  most  effective,  in  the 
Providence  of  God,  in  opening  and  impressing 
my  mind  in  reference  to  practical  rejigion,  was 
Doddridge's  Pise  and  Progress  of  Heligion  in 
the  Soul.  Few  books  have  been  more  exten- 
sively blessed  to  the  conversion  of  the  sinner 
and  the  edification  of  the  Christian,  than  this 
unpretending,  simple,  and  earnest  production 
of  one  of  the  kindest,  most  intelligent,  useful, 
and  holy  men  of  modern  times.  To  this  work 
I  must  add,  as  one  of  the  most  deeply  religious 
books  ever  published,  Bishop  Beveridge's  Pri- 
vate Thouglits.  This  very  practical  treatise  I 
found  greatly  beneficial ;  and,  indeed,  it  can 
hardly  be  too  highly  prized.  It  ought  to  be 
familiar  to  every  Christian,  and  especially  to 
every  one  who  aspires  to  the  sacred  ministry  of 
the  Church. 

My  theological  studies  were  pursued  under 
the  direction  of  Bishop  White,  whom  I  regu- 
larly visited  in  his  study,  at  first  once  in  two 
weeks,  and  afterwards  once  a  month,  for  up- 
wards of  three  years.  The  Bishop  never  sub- 
jected me  to  any  examinations ;  indeed,  I 
do  not  recollect  that  he.  ever  questioned  me 
in  reference  to  any  theological  point  except 
at  my  examinations  for  orders.  If  the  plan 
of  stated  recitations  had  been  pursued  with 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  23 

some  regularity,  my  studies  would,  no  doubt, 
have  been  more  thorough  and  my  knowledge 
more  accurate.  As  it  was,  I  read  a  great 
deal,  but  thought  and  studied  little.  To  use 
common  language,  I  crammed  so  fully  that  I 
had  neither  opportunity  nor  ability  to  digest 
any  thing  intellectually.  Consequently,  my 
concej)tions  of  theology  as  a  system  were  very 
vague  and  undefined,  and  my  acquaintance 
with  the  several  departments  of  divinity  loose 
and  imperfect.  The  candor  of  the  good  Bishop 
showed  itself  in  one  respect,  very  conspicu- 
ously, illustrating  also  his  love  of  truth  and  his 
confidence  that  a  search  after  it  was  best  pro- 
moted, not  by  concealment  of  error,  but  by 
general  and  extended  investigation  of  contro- 
verted points.  If  he  recommended  any  one 
book  in  defense  of  doctrine  or  discipline,  he 
did  not  hesitate  to  put  into  my  hands  some 
other  defending  an  opposite  view.  1  Thus 
Campbell's  Lectures  on  Ecclesiastical  History 
were  read  in  connection  with  Skinner's  Truth 
and  Order,  and  Lord  King's  Primitive  Church 
along  with  Slater's  Original  Draft.  After 
Hooker's  Ecclesiastical  Polity,  and  Potter  on 
Church  Government,  with  the  controversial 
works  of  Hobart,  Howe,  Bowden,  and  Miller, 
he  put  into  my  hand,  Stillingfleetfs  Irenicum. 


24  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

And  I  shall  never  forget  the  remark  which 
he  then  made :  "  A  book  much  spoken  against, 
but  never  answered.1'* 

I  read  somewhat  extensively  on  the  subject 
of  Church  polity.  For  a  considerable  time  my 
mind  was  unsettled,  and  I  studied  the  various 

*  When  a  young  man,  I  heard  it  said  by  some  of  our  elderly  and  most 
distinguished  clergymen,  that  Stillingfleet  retracted  in  after-life  the 
principles  of  this  book.  I  never  met  with  any  one,  however,  who  could 
tell  me  where  this  retraction  was  to  be  found,  though  I  repeatedly  made 
the  inquiry.  I  can  not  believe  that  he  ever  retracted  the  fundamental 
principles  of  the  book,  which,  indeed,  are  very  like,  and  in  a  measure 
identical  with  those  of  Hooker.  No  doubt  he  changed  his  views  on 
some  of  the  details,  and  especially  in  what  he  says  on  the  subject  of 
ordination  by  presbyters.  And  probably  the  rumor  above  alluded  to, 
had  its  origin  in  the  following  passages  which  occur  in  the  author's 
preface  to  his  Unreasonableness  of  Separation,  quarto,  London,  1682. 
When  he  published  this  work  he  was  Dean  of  St.  Paul's ;  twenty  years 
before,  when  the  Irenicum  made  its  appearance,  he  was  rector  of  Sut- 
ton, in  Bedfordshhe.  On  a  public  occasion  the  Dean  had  preached  a 
sermon  on  "  the  unreasonableness  and  mischief  of  the  present  separa- 
tion." This  production  became  the  occasion  of  a  good  deal  of  contro- 
versy, and,  among  other  things,  the  preacher  was  charged  with  advocating 
views  inconsistent  with  those  which  he  had  maintained  in  the  Irenicum. 
In  reply  he  makes  the  following  acknowledgments  implied  or  expressed  : 
"  Will  you  not  allow  a  person  who  happened  to  write  about  these  mat- 
ters when  he  was  very  young,  in  twenty  years'  time  of  the  most  busy 
and  thoughtful  part  of  his  life,  to  see  reason  to  alter  his  judgment  ? 
But  after  all,  where  is  it  that  he  hath  thus  contradicted  himself?  Is  it  in 
the  point  of  separation?  No,"  etc.  "But  if  any  thing  in  the  follow- 
ing treatise,"  that  is,  the  work  on  Separation,  "be  found  different  from 
the  sense  of  that  book,  I  do  entreat  them  to  allow  me  that  which  I 
heartily  wish  to  them,  namely,  that  in  twenty  years'  time  we  may  arrive 
to  such  maturity  of  thought  as  to  see  reason  to  change  our  opinion  of 
some  things,  and  I  wish  I  had  not  cause  to  add  of  some  persons  too." 
(Pp.  lxxii.  lxxvi.)  But  these  passages  afford  very  insufficient  grounds  for 
the  statement  that  the  author  retracted  the  principles  of  his  former  work 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  25 

works  with  particular  attention.  The  result  of 
my  examination  was  this,  that  diocesan  Epis- 
copacy was  of  apostolic  origin,  instituted  under 
divine  guidance,  and  consequently  jure  divino. 
But  whether  this  form  of  church  government 
was  divinely  established  in  perpetuity,  and 
intended  to  be  necessary  to  the  Church  at  all 
periods,  so  that  the  preservation  of  it  becomes 
essential  to  its  existence,  or  whether  it  were 
established  as  being  best  adapted  to  the  apos- 
tolic age,  so  that,  subsequently,  changes  might 
be  introduced  without  destroying  the  validity 
of  the  ministry  or  its  acts ;  these  appeared  to 
be  questions  for  private  judgment,  on  which 
different  views  might  allowably  be  entertained 
by  different  minds  without  affecting  the  sound- 
ness of  their  church  views.  The  fact  that  the 
Jewish  succession  in  the  high  priestly  office 
had  been  tampered  with,  and  persons  intro- 
duced into  it  who  had  no  legal  Mosaic  claim, 
and  yet  that  in  our  Lord's  time  the  Hebrew 
Church  was  not  regarded  as  nullified  or  mu- 
tilated  thereby,  nor  the  ecclesiastical  authority 
of  those  who  thus  held  office  questioned  by 
Him,  but  that  on  the  contrary,  He  spoke  of 
the  Scribes  and  Pharisees  as  "  sitting  in  Moses' 
seat,"  and  therefore  having  a  rightful  claim  to 
obedience,  made  a  strong  impression  on   me, 


26  AUTOBIOGEAPHY  OF 

and  Lad  no  slight  influence  in  enabling  me  to 
come  to  a  decision.  The  principle  defended 
against  the  Puritans  by  Hooker,*  that  even 
divinely  established  laws  are  not  necessarily 
permanent,  was  that  on  which  my  mind  ulti- 
mately rested.  I  saw  no  reason  for  abandon- 
ing Episcopacy,  but  on  the  contrary  very 
strong  ones  for  adhering  to  it.  Yet  I  could 
not  admit  the  conclusion  that  those  who  had 
done  so,  had  thereby  unchurched  themselves, 
especially  under  circumstances  where  Episco- 
pacy could  not  readily  be  secured. 

I  read,  in  manuscript,  most  of  the  Bishop's 
Calvinistic  and  Armenian  controversy,  which 
had  not  then  been  published.  The  reference 
in  that  work  to  Calvin's  early  view  of  the 
meaning  of  1  Pet.  2  :  8,  u  Whereunto  also  they 
were  appointed,"  which  he  originally  consid- 
ered as  expressive  of  "the  favorable  circum- 
stances in  which  the  Jews  were  placed  for 
their  reception  of  the  Gospel,"  was  suggested 
by  me  at  that  time.  Not  long  before,  I  had 
purchased  at  the  sale  of  a  portion  of  the  li- 
brary of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Kunze,  (a  Lutheran 
clergyman,  who  had  been  professor  of  He- 
brew in  Columbia  College,)  a  copy  of  Ger- 
hard's Loci  Theologici,  where  I  found  the  pas- 

*  Eccles.  Polity,  Book  III.  sections  9,  10.1 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  27 

sage  to  which,  the  Bishop  refers,  and  pointed 
it  ont  to  him. 

During  the  period  of  nearly  three  and  a 
half  years  which  I  spent  in  reading  divinity 
under  Bishop  White,  attention  was  habitually 
given  to  the  sacred  Scriptures.  I  read  Pat- 
rick, Stackhouse's  History  of  the  Bible,  Whit- 
by, Doddridge's  Expositor,  Campbell  on  the 
Gospels,  consulted  Poole's  Annotations  and 
such  other  books  as  I  had  access  to.  Indeed, 
at  one  period  of  the  course  I  got  together  all 
the  commentators  I  could  procure,  had  them 
opened  and  arrranged  on  a  large  table,  and 
read  one  after  the  other  with  persevering  in- 
dustry until  I  became  tired  and  bewildered. 
The  result  was  a  confused  jumble  of  informa- 
tion, often  inconsistent,  sometimes  positively 
contradictory ;  and  vague,  indefinite,  unsatis- 
factory notions  of  the  meaning.  I  learned  by 
experience  that  no  clear  perception  of  the 
oracles  of  God  was  attainable  in  this  way.  I 
was  incompetent  to  form  a  judgment  respect- 
ing the  truth  among  diversified  and  opposing 
expositions,  and  the  views  of  one  respectable 
commentator  were  received  as  sufficiently  sat- 
isfactory until  the  conflicting  views  of  the 
next  in  order  suggested  difficulties  that  weak- 
ened or  destroyed  the  impressions  which  had 


28  AUTOBIOGKAPHY   OF 

been  made  by  the  former.  To  which  I  add 
that  in  many  cases  none  of  them  gave  satisfac- 
tory expositions.  With  the  principles  of  sa- 
cred criticism  and  interpretation  I  had  no  ac- 
quaintance. The  idea  of  settling  the  true  text 
of  the  Bible  by  referring  to  written  authori- 
ties of  manuscripts,  versions,  and  quotations,  a 
thousand  years  or  more  older  than  the  in- 
vention of  printing,  had  never  occurred  to  me. 
Of  Mill,  Wetstein,  or  Griesbach,  I  had  never 
heard.  Interpretation  as  a  science  was  almost 
equally  unknown,  and  when  I  felt  difficulties 
in  certain  expositions  maintained  by  orthodox 
annotators  of  reputation,  or  failed  to  get  from 
them  any  clear  instruction,  I  attributed  this 
want  of  satisfaction  to  my  inability  fully  to 
comprehend  the  points  in  question,  admitting 
the  correctness  and  sufficiency  of  the  exposi- 
tions as  a  matter  of  course,  because  they  had 
the  imprimatur  of  authority.  Having  been 
brought  up  in  the  church  of  which  Dr.  Pil- 
more  was  the  rector,  I  imbibed,  in  general,  the 
leading  doctrines  which  were  there  preached, 
and  with  which  those  that  I  had  been  accus- 
tomed to  hear  at  home  coincided.  The  views 
of  Komaine,  Hervey,  Newton,  and  others  of 
the  same  school  were  regarded  with  great  de- 
ference, and  I  well  remember  that  I  consid- 


REV.   DR.  TURNER.  29 

ered  the  denial  of  the  direct  imputation  of 
Christ's  active  obedience  to  the  believer  as  the 
sole  ground  of  his  justification,  as  an  abandon- 
ment of  a  fundamental  truth  of  Christianity. 
The  texts  in  St.  Paul's  Epistles  which  were 
thought  to  be  conclusive  in  favor  of  this  point, 
have  since  that  time  been  carefully  examined, 
and  I  am  satisfied  that  they  do  not  teach  the 
doctrine. 

After  some  time  my  attention  was  turned 
more  particularly  than  before  to  the  study 
of  the  Greek  Testament.  I  bought  Park- 
hurst's  Lexicon,  fourth  edition,  octavo,  1804, 
congratulating  myself  on  having  secured  for 
nine  dollars  and  fifty  cents  the  greatest  Bib 
lical  treasure  of  the  sort  which  had  ever  ap- 
peared. I  studied  his  introductory  Greek 
grammar,  and  made  myself  familiar  with  the 
paradigms  of  the  verbs  so  far  as  they  are  given 
in  his  work.  It  need  not  surprise  you  to  be 
told  that  although  I  had  graduated  at  the 
University,  I  could  not  inflect  a  Greek  verb, 
and  had  no  clear  conception  of  the  peculiar 
force  of  the  middle  voice,  or  of  the  distinction 
between  the  aorist  and  perfect  tenses.  Not- 
withstanding all  the  boasted  improvements  in 
the  education  of  the  present  day,  parallel  cases 
are   now  not  at   all  uncommon.     Not   a  few 


30  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

young  men  have  I  found,  fresh  from  college, 
with  diplomas  in  their  hands,  who  could  not 
read,  parse,  and  translate  half  a  dozen  verses  in 
the  Gospels  with  any  thing  like  accuracy.  In- 
deed, I  have  known  graduates,  respectable  in 
general  acquaintance  with  Latin  and  Greek, 
who  could  not  thoroughly  translate  and.  parse 
the  first  four  verses  of  St.  Luke's  Gospel. 
Parkhurst's  verbs,  however,  I  mastered,  and 
set  about  a  careful  study  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment in  Greek,  with  the  aid  of  his  Lexicon. 
And  although  the  book  is  now  in  a  good  de- 
gree superseded  by  others  more  profound  and 
accurate,  and  although  the  author  makes  both 
it  and  his  Hebrew  Lexicon  vehicles  to  convey 
to  the  student  his  Hutchinsonian  notions,  yet 
I  must  honestly  acknowledge  my  great  obliga- 
tion to  this  good  and  learned  man  for  the 
important  aid  that  his  work  afforded  me. 
Bishop  Marsh's  translation  of  the  introduction 
of  John  David  Michaelis,  which  I  got  from 
London  through  a  friend  of  my  father  resid- 
ing there,  made  me  acquainted  with  the  vari- 
ous points  of  New  Testament  criticism  ;  and 
Lightfoot's  Horse  Hebraicse  et  Talmndicse 
brought  to  my  notice  the  vast  importance 
of  Jewish  literature  in  illustrating  Scriptural 
phraseology. 


EEV.   DR.   TURNER.  31 

After  pursuing,  for  some  time,  the  study  of 
the  Greek  Testament,  I  adopted  a  practice 
which  experience  proved  to  be  very  useful. 
I  accustomed  myself  to  translate  from  English 
into  Greek.  In  this  way,  I  became  the  more 
familiar  with  the  original  text,  so  that  before 
long  I  was  able  to  use  an  English  New  Testa- 
ment in  church,  and  to  read  to  myself  in  Greek, 
the  lessons  in  the  Gospels,  after  the  officiating 
clergyman.  Thus  there  became  impressed  on 
my  memory  many  expressions,  and  even  verses, 
of  the  Greek  Testament,  some  of  which  it  has 
retained  to  the  present  day.  I  regret  that  I 
did  not  carry  out  the  principle,  and,  like  that 
"  right  learned  and  godly  man,"  Bishop  An- 
drews, commit  to  memory  the  whole  book. 

A  year  or  more  before  receiving  deacons' 
orders,  I  commenced  the  study  of  Hebrew. 
The  Rev.  Samuel  B.  Wylie,  at  that  time  teacher 
of  Latin  and  Greek  in  the  University  of  Penn- 
sylvania, was  my  instructor.  Unfortunately, 
he  was  decidedly  in  favor  of  the  system  adopt- 
ed by  Masclef,  Wilson,  Parkhurst,  and  some 
others,  and  attempted  to  teach  the  language 
without  points,  employing  the  matres  lectiones 
as  vowels,  and  introducing  a  short  e  wherever 
the  concurrence  of  two  consonants  required 
some  sound  to  be  expressed  for  which  the  let- 


32  AUTOBIOGKAPHY  OF 

ters  of  the  word  did  not  provide.  In  the 
course  of  a  few  months,  I  thought  I  was  mak- 
ing rapid  progress  in  the  language.  The  Ma- 
soretical  system  of  vowel-points  appeared  to 
me  not  only  entirely  useless,  but  a  mass  of 
confusion,  a  troublesome  and  traditionary  excres- 
cence, marring  the  simple  beauty  of  the  sacred 
tree  of  divine  knowledge.  I  continued  reading 
Hebrew  in  this  way,  with  the  assistance  of 
Parkhurst's  Lexicon,  for  six  or  seven  years, 
until  I  had  gone  through  by  far  the  greater 
part  of  the  Bible.  But  the  result  was  a  vague 
and  indefinite  knowledge.  I  had  to  consult  a 
translation  in  order  to  ascertain  whether  a  word 
was  a  noun  or  adjective  or  verb ;  and  if  the 
last,  whether  in  a  participial  form,  or  preterite, 
or  imperative,  or  infinitive,  and  whether  it  re- 
quired an  active  or  passive  sense,  and  was  or 
was  not  intensive  in  meaning.  From  the  text 
alone,  I  could  scarcely  ever  come  to  a  definite 
conclusion  in  cases  of  difficulty.  And  such,  I 
presume,  must  be  the  experience  of  all  who 
confine  themselves  to  this  system. 

My  examination  for  orders  was  to  myself 
very  unsatisfactory,  and,  I  think,  it  could  not 
have  been  otherwise  to  the  examiners.  I  had 
never  been  accustomed  to  examine  myself  on 
what  I  had  read,  nor  had  I  before  been  at  all 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  33 

subjected  to  examination  on  theological  points 
by  others.  A  good  deal  of  reading  without 
much  thought,  had  left  my  mind  poorly  disci- 
plined. I  had  a  general  idea  of  the  various 
topics  on  which  the  examination  turned,  but 
was  not  able  to  develop  them  clearly,  for  want 
of  the  habit  of  reflecting  on,  of  analyzing,  and 
of  stating  propositions  definitely.  A  conscious- 
ness of  this  incapacity  was  an  advantage  to  me 
in  after-life. 


>-x 


34  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OP 


CHAPTER    II. 

Ordination — Revisits  Dr.'Feltus — Succeeds  the  Rev.  Wm.  H.  Wil- 
mer  in  Chestertown,  Maryland — First  Sermon  there — Letter 
from  Judge  Chambers  respecting  the  "  I.  TJ.  Church  " — Cha- 
racter and  Extent  of  his  Labors — The  Haunted  House — Pa- 
rochial Visiting — Labors  among  the  Blacks — Weekly  Lec- 
tures— Sermon-Writing — Theological,  Ecclesiastical,  and  Bibli- 
cal Studies — Latin  and  Greek  Classics,  and  Hebrew  Language 
— Best  Mode  of  Learning  Ancient  Languages — Important 
Principle  in  the  Composition  of  Sermons — Pioneer  in  the 
Sunday-School  "Work — Election  of  Bishop  Kemp— War  with 
England — Fight  near  Chestertown. 

I  was  admitted  to  deacon's  orders  in  St. 
Paul's  Church,  Philadelphia,  on  the  morning 
of  the  twenty-seventh  of  January,  1811,  being 
twenty-one  years  and  four  days  old.  The  Rev. 
Dr.  Pilmore,  the  rector,  presented  me.  I 
preached  my  first  sermou  in  the  afternoon  of 
the  same  day,  at  Christ  Church.  Like  most 
young  men,  I  was  rather  desirous  to  deliver  a 
carefully  prepared  discourse,  than  simply  to  an- 
nounce the  glad  tidings  of  salvation  through 
Christ,  although  this  point  was  not  omitted. 
The  text  was  the  middle  clause  of  John  3:19: 
"  Light  is  come  into  the  world."  After  stating 
in  the  exordium  the  important  principles,  "  that 
God  does  nothing  in  vain,  and  that,  when  ne- 


REV.  DR.   TURNER.  m  35 

cessary,  He  never  fails  to  act,"  I  proceeded  to 
apply  the  latter  axiom.  It  was  my  object  to 
show,  first,  the  necessity  of  a  revelation  from 
a  view  of  religion  and  morals  in  the  heathen 
world,  previous  to  and  at  the  time  of  the  com- 
ing of  Jesns  Christ ;  secondly,  to  prove  the 
truth  of  the  position  in  the  text,  or  to  justify 
the  assertion  that  "Light  has  come  into  the 
world  ;"  and,  thirdly,  "  from  taking  a  compara- 
tive view  of  Heathenism  and  Christianity,  to 
evince  the  infinite  superiority  of  the  latter." 
You  will  readily  perceive,  that  in  an  address  to 
a  Christian  audience,  much  of  the  matter  dis- 
cussed might  have  been  regarded  as  admitted. 
The  only  good  which  could  be  expected  to  re- 
sult, was  the  confirmation  of  previously  exist- 
ing faith. 

I  spent  the  greater  part  of  the  year  1811  at 
home,  officiating  occasionally  in  the  city 
churches.  In  the  course  of  the  summer,  I 
made  a  visit  to  New- York.  I  passed  some 
weeks  in  New-Jersey  —  in  Swedesborough, 
Glastenbury,  and  that  vicinity.  The  Rev.  Si- 
mon Wilnier,  the  successor  of  Mr.  Feltus  in 
Swedesborough,  had,  for  a  considerable  time, 
been  a  frequent  visitor  at  my  father's.  I  spent 
some  weeks  at  his  house,  and  frequently  preach- 
ed and  lectured  in  his  parish.     In  this  way,  I 


36    •  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

became  intimately  acquainted  with  his  brother, 
the  Rev.  William  H.  Wilmer,  clergyman  of  the 
Church  at  Chestertown,  Kent  county,  eastern 
shore  of  Maryland.  There  I  made  him  a  visit, 
preached  in  his  church,  and  was  introduced  to 
some  leading  members  of  his  congregation. 
He  was  then  paying  his  addresses  to  Miss 
Marion  Cox,  of  Mount  Holly,  N.  J.,  and  some 
time  in  the  following  January,  I  became  his 
attendant  on  the  occasion  of  his  marriage.  Just 
before  this  event,  he  had  accepted  an  invitation 
to  the  church  at  Alexandria,  Virginia,  and  I 
had  been  invited  to  become  his  successor  at 
Chester  town.  Early  in  1812,  I  entered  upon 
the  duties  of  this  parish,  in  connection  with 
that  of  St.  Paul's,  eight  miles  farther  down  the 
county,  the  two  having  been  for  some  time  as- 
sociated under  one  clergyman.  My  engage- 
ment was  to  officiate  alternately  every  other 
Sunday  morning  in  each  church.  My  first  ser- 
mon as  pastor  was  preached  on  the  morning  of 
February  sixteenth.  It  was  a  rainy  day,  and 
the  congregation  was  small.  I  repeated  it  in 
St.  Paul's,  March  twenty-second,  to  a  larger  au- 
dience. The  words  in  2  Cor.  5  :  20,  "  We  are 
ambassadors  for  Christ,"  were  selected  as  the 
text,  and  the  subject  was  considered  in  the  fol- 
lowing order :   First,  the  embassy  or  message 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  37 

itself ;  secondly,  the  persons  to  whom  it  should 
be  announced ;  and  thirdly,  the  manner  in 
which  it  should  be  delivered.  The  embassy 
was  stated  to  be  the  Gospel,  the  nature  of 
which  was  explained  and  developed.  The  idea 
of  delivering,  in  every  discourse  the  general  sys- 
tem of  its  doctrine  was  distinctly  disavowed. 
It  was  stated  that  different  points  would  be 
presented  in  different  discourses ;  also,  what 
the  points  were  which  a  right  announcement  of 
the  Gospel  necessarily  involved,  from  the  fall 
of  man  to  his  ultimate  restoration  in  everlasting 
life  by  means  of  the  only  one  Mediator,  Jesus, 
and  the  sanctifying  influence  of  the  Spirit  of 
Grace.  With  regard  to  the  second  point,  it 
was  shown  that  to  all  classes  of  persons,  begin- 
ning with  the  most  daring  infidel,  and  compre- 
hending all  sorts  of  sinners  and  worldly-mind- 
ed, to  believers  also  of  every  description,  the 
ambassador  of  Christ  had  his  appropriate  mes- 
sage, every  part  of  which  he  was  to  draw  from 
his  authoritative  document,  the  Word  of  God. 
Thirdly,  it  was  stated  that  the  minister  of 
Christ  must  deliver  his  embassy  with  fidelity, 
not  corrupting  the  message,  or  announcing  it 
imperfectly  ;  with  earnestness,  on  account  of  its 
vast  importance,  and  with  love,  as  characteristic 
of  its  Author.    The  discourse  was  concluded  by 


38  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

requesting  the  prayers  of  the  congregation  for 
the  pastor  whom  the  providence  of  God  had 
called  to  lalbor  among  them. 

The  parish  church  of  Chestertown  was  not 
the  building  in  the  town  itself.  It  was  situated 
about  five  miles  north-west  of  it,  and  called 
I.  U.  Church.  I  endeavored  repeatedly  to 
ascertain  the  meaning  of  these  initials,  but 
never  found  any  one,  during  my  residence  in 
Maryland,  who  could  decipher  it.  My  old 
friend  and  former  parishioner,  the  Honorable 
Ezekiel  F.  Chambers,  of  Chestertown,  to  whom 
I  lately  applied  for  information,  states  as  fol- 
lows :  "  It  is  quite  remarkable  that  no  tradition 
has  brought  down  to  the  present,  or,  as  far  as^ 
I  can  learn,  the  past  generation,  the  slightest 
explanation  or  history  of  the  name.  (The 
Parish  Register  was  destroyed  piece-meal  by 
the  culpable  neglect  of  those  who  should  have 
preserved  it.)  This  was  partly  occasioned  by 
the  fact  that  it  continued  to  be  the  parish 
church  after  our  chapel  was  erected  in  this 
place,  and  long  after  it  ceased  to  claim  a 
regular  worshipping  congregation,  even  after 
its  entire  dilapidation.  When  I  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  State  Senate,  I  had  an  act  of  as- 
sembly passed  making  our  town  church  the 
parish  church.      Until  then  some  few  of  us 


REV.  DR.   TURNER.  39 

were  accustomed  to  ride  out  to  I.  IT.  on  every 
Easter  Monday  to  elect  a  vestry.  I  have  par- 
tially examined  our  old  records,  and  although 
I  find  no  direct  allusion  to  the  church's  name, 
I  find  what  to  my  mind  is  a  satisfactory  so- 
lution. It  is  ascertained  by  reference  to  an- 
cient deeds  on  record,  that  there  was  a  family 
in  the  vicinity  surnamed  '  Ulrick]  .  and  among 
them  a  '  John  Ulrick?  It  is  also  known  that 
the  cross-roads  which  have  always  run  there 
were  known  by  the  name  of  I.  U.  cross-roads. 
The  place  probably  took  the  same  name,  and 
also  the  church."  As  a  similar  case  Judge 
Chambers  adduces  that  "  of  a  village  in  Queen 
Anne's,  called  J.  B.,  from  John  Brown,  the 
owner  of  the  adjoining  territory." 

The  church,  which  was  known  by  tins  un- 
usual name,  was  very  old,  greatly  decayed,  in- 
deed almost  dilapidated,  and  had  not  been 
used  for  sacred  purposes  for  many  years.  On 
summer  afternoons  I  often  made  appointments 
to  preach  there.  The  pulpit  and  desk  were  de- 
stroyed, so  I  used  to  accommodate  myself  by 
placing  the  door  of  one  broken  pew  horizon- 
tally on  the  sides  of  another,  selecting  a  spot 
where  no  loose  portions  of  the  ceiling  threat- 
ened to  fall,  nor  openings  in  the  roof  to  let 
in  a  passing  shower,  and,  arranging  the  Bible 


40  AUTOBIOGEAPHY  OF 

and  prayer-book  upon  the  hastily  made  lec- 
tern, I  performed  divine  service  and  preached 
to  the  people  of  the  surrounding  country 
This  church,  I  am  informed,  has  lately  been 
repaired.  This  is  true  also  of  one  in  the 
upper  part  of  the  county  in  Shrewsbury,  and 
of  St.  Paul's  in  the  lower  part.  These,  with 
several  others  on  the  Eastern  Shore,  were  put  in 
good  order  under  the  Episcopal  supervision  of 
the  present  energetic  diocesan.  The  sight  of 
many  large  and  fine  church  edifices  suffered  to 
go  to  ruin  was  very  melancholy.  In  some 
places  a  small  brick  building  had  been  erected 
a  few  rods  from  the  church  to  serve  as  a  vestry- 
room,  and  here  divine  services  were  occasion- 
ally. ^Icl.  I  recollect  riding  with  an  old  and 
much  valued  friend,  the  Rev.  Henry  Lyon 
Davis,  seventeen  miles  on  a  week-day  to  a 
church  in  Caroline  county  on  the  border  of 
Queen  Anne's,  where  an  appointment  had  been 
made.  The  church  was  found  to  be  demolished 
except  the  walls,  and  its  appearance  gave  too 
sure  indications  that  it  had  been  used  for  a 
long  time  as  a  shelter  and  stable  for  sheep 
and  other  cattle.  The  assembled  congregation 
amounted  to  nine  grown  people,  and  four  or 
■five  children.  I  very  foolishly  remarked  to 
my  reverend  friend,  that  it  would   be  ridicu- 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  41 

lous  to  preach  to  so  few  people ;  to  which  he 
very  wisely  replied,  that  it  would  be  far  more 
ridiculous  not  to  preach  to  them. 

Although  the  crumbling  edifice  of  I.  U.  was 
the  parish  church,  yet  that  in  the  town,  to 
which  no  particular  name  was  appropriated, 
was  always  practically  so  regarded.  There, 
during  the  time  of  my  residence  in  Maryland, 
elections  of  wardens  and  vestrymen  were  an- 
nually held,  and  other  church  business  trans- 
acted. The  congregation  was  not  very  large, 
but  quite  respectable  in  general  character  and 
intelligence,  some  of  its  members  having,  since 
that  time,  become  distinguished  both  in  Church 
and  State.  I  was  always  treated  with  kindness 
and  respect ;  and  during  my  residence  I  culti- 
vated some  friendships  which  will  not  terminate 
even  with  death,  but  I  trust,  will,  after  that 
event,  become  settled  and  immutable. 

On  establishing  myself  at  Chestertown,  1 
began  house-keeping  with  my  sister  Eliza.  We 
occupied  the  same  building  in  which  my  prede- 
cessor had  lived,  a  country  place  of  the  Wil- 
mer  family,  a  short  distance  from  the  town,  near 
the  banks  of  a  creek  which  emptied  half  a  mile 
off  into  the  Chester  river.  The  family  burial- 
ground  was  within  about  one  hundred  yards  of 
the  house,  which  had  the  unenviable  distinction 


42  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

of  being  haunted ;  and,  as  I  afterwards  learned, 
I  acquired  the  reputation  of  laying  the  ghosts 
by  means  of  a  Bible  or  prayer-book  placed 
under  my  pillow.  The  first  night  of  our  lodg- 
ing there  made  an  indelible  impression  on  the 
memory.  The  place  swarmed  with  rats,  by 
whose  persevering  efforts  large  mounds  of  dirt 
had  been  thrown  up  in  the  cellar,  and  from  one 
of  its  windows  to  another  the  grass  had  been 
completely  worn  by  their  feet.  What  with  the 
noise  they  made  in  running  about,  the  con- 
tinued and  antiphonal  barkings  of  dogs  on  the 
one  side  of  the  creek  to  those  on  the  other,  and 
of  both,  for  all  I  know,  to  the  full  moon,  (aided 
also  by  the  voice  of  our  own  dog  within  or 
near  to  the  house,)  the  yelling  of  cats,  and  the 
moanings  of  doves  that  had  made  their  nests 
in  the  eaves  of  the  long  one-storied  building, 
it  was  impossible  to  sleep  with  comfort,  and 
equally  so  not  to  feel  that  the  house  was  indeed 
haunted  by  natural  beings  both  within  and 
without,  who  were  quite  capable  of  annoying 
its  sleepless  inmates.  Dinah,  our  servant-wo- 
man, would  never  stay  at  home  when  we  were 
out  to  tea,  unless  she  had  the  company  and 
protection  of  her  faithful  husband.  We  found 
half  a  year's  residence  quite  enough  in  this 
solitary  mansion,  and  afterwards  removed  to  a 


REV.   DK.   TURNER.  43 

comfortable  dwelling  in  the  town,  which  we 
occupied  during  the  remaining  time  of  my  con- 
nection with  the  parish. 

As  soon  as  I  became  settled,  I  made  syste- 
matic arrangements  for  ministerial  duties,  be- 
coming  acquainted  with  all  the  members  of 
both  parishes.  The  families,  without  excep- 
tion, I  regularly  visited;  those  in  the  town 
once  in  about  a  month  or  six  weeks  and  some 
oftener.  The  country  residents  were  not  so 
easily  accessible;  but,  as  I  kept  a  horse  and 
chaise,  I  rode  a  good  deal,  and  neglected  none, 
however  remote,  who  attended  either  of  the 
churches.  As  I  was  the  only  Episcopal  cler- 
gyman in  the  county,  the  length  of  which  was 
at  least  forty  miles,  my  time  was  considerably 
occupied  in  going  about,  especially  when  sickness 
prevailed.  Still,  I  found  by  experience,  that  ha- 
bitual regularity  and  order  were  great  helps  to 
effort.  I  entered  upon  my  parochial  charge 
with  about  twenty-five  sermons,  most  of 
which  at  that  time  I  ventured  to  preach,  al- 
though subsequently  I  burned  the  larger  por- 
tion. Some,  however,  I  have  preserved,  as 
they  may  be  suggestive  to  you,  if  you  take 
the  trouble  to  read  them.  I  preached  in 
the  town  church  and  in  St.  Paul's  alternate- 
ly every  other   Sunday  morning.     After  ofS.- 


44  AUTOBIOGEAPHY  OF 

• 

dating  at  the  town  church  in  the  morning, 
I  usually  held  a  second  service  either  there, 
or,  when  the  season  was  suitable,  at  I.  U.  in 
the  afternoon,  or  else  employed  the  time  in 
catechetical  instruction.  During  one  season 
this  service  was  conducted  for  the  exclusive 
benefit  of  the  colored  population.  On  these 
occasions  the  lower  part  of  the  church  was 
generally  quite  full.  The  congregations  were 
always  attentive  to  the  instruction  which  I 
endeavored  to  give  them  clearly  and  simply; 
many  of  them  joined  audibly  and  earnestly 
in  the  devotions;  and,  I  need  not  say,  they 
sang  "  lustily  and  with  a  good  courage."  Af- 
ter performing  the  morning  duty  at  St.  Paul's, 
I  used  to  officiate  also  in  the  afternoon  at  the 
town  church,  except  when  in  winter  the  roads 
were  too  bad  to  allow  me,  after  a  service  be- 
ginning at  eleven,  to  ride  eight  miles  in  time 
for  another  service  the  same  day. 

Usually  I  limited  my  pulpit  preparations  to 
one  sermon  a  week,  irrespective,  however,  of 
occasional  calls  of  duty,  such  as  funerals,  when 
in  compliance  with  long-established  usage,  ser- 
mons were  expected.  Frequently,  a  large  pro- 
portion of*  the  hearers  consisted  of  persons  who 
were  not  in  the  habit  of  attending  church,  so 
that  in  this  way  an  opportunity  was  given  to 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  45 

make  known  the  truth  to  those  who  refused  to 
put  themselves  under  the  ordinary  course  of 
edification.  After  I  had  been  two  months  in 
the  parish  I  established  a  course  of  Wednes- 
day evening  services.  These  were  continued 
with  some  intermissions  and  changes,  during  a 
large  proportion  of  the  time  that  I  lived  in 
Chestertown.  I  began  with  the  .first  Epistle 
to  the  Corinthians.  I  did  not  venture  to  ex- 
plain the  Romans.  The  first  lecture  was  deliv- 
ered on  the  evening  of  April  sixteenth,  1812, 
and  the  series  was  continued  until  June.  In 
the  following  November — about  which  time 
those  persons  who  had  been  attacked  by  ague 
or  intermittent  fever  during:  the  summer  or 
autumn  usually  recovered  —  it  was  resumed. 
Occasionally  I  reserved  the  consideration  of 
very  important  texts  for  Sundays,  especially 
certain  portions  in  the  second  Epistle.  Lec- 
tures were  delivered  also  on  other  subjects,  as 
occasion  required,  namely,  baptism,  confirma- 
tion, and  the  Lord's  Supper.  I  also  prepared 
and  delivered  six  lectures  on  the  first  part  of 
the  Church  Catechism,  namely,  the  Christian 
covenant.  I  would  probably  have  attempted 
to  illustrate  the  whole  of  this  "instruction" 
of  the  Church  if  I  had  continued  in  the  parish. 
It  was  my  invariable  practice  to   begin  the 


46  AUTOBIOGEAPHY  OF 

preparation  of  my  sermon  not  later  than  Tues- 
day, generally  on  Monday.  I  devoted  to  it 
about  two  hours  every  morning,  beginning  di- 
rectly after  breakfast,  and  usually  finished  on 
Friday.  I  never  allowed  myself  to  wait  until 
I  should  get  in  a  humor  for  writing.  Experi- 
ence satisfied  me  that  this  came  naturally  in 
the  very  exercise,  (VappStit  vient  en  mangeant^) 
though  it  may  have  been  commenced  reluct- 
antly and  even  with  aversion.  As  a  general 
rule,  the  rest  of  my  mornings,  and  the  evenings 
which  were  not  spent  in  visiting  my  friends, 
were  devoted  to  study,  and  the  afternoons  to 
parochial  visits.  Of  course  this  arrangement 
was  subject  to  many  interruptions ;  but  still 
I  found  myself  able  to  carry  it  out  in  a  very 
considerable  degree,  and,  I  think  I  may  add,  to 
advantage. 

The  chief  topics  of  study  to  which  I  bent 
my  attention  were  the  Bible  and  ecclesiastical 
history — principally  the  former.  I  read  a  good 
deal  of  Hebrew;  but,  unfortunately,  on  an 
erroneous  principle — ignoring  the  points.  Some 
years  afterwards  I  felt  the  truth  of  a  remark 
which  I  heard  made  in  Philadelphia  by  an 
earnest  advocate  of  the  Divine  authority,  not 
only  of  the  Hebrew  words  and  letters,  but  also 
of  the  vowel-points  and  accents,  when  he  was 


REV.   DR.  TURNER.  47 

declaiming  against  the  system  of  Masclef  as  not 
tending  to  give  the  learner  any  clear  and  solid 
knowledge  of  the  language :  "  You  may  plough 
a  field  through,  and  you  may  have  to  plough  it 
through  over  again."  I  read  the  Septuagint 
through,  beginning  February  eighth,  1814,  and 
finishing  it  October  eleventh,  1815.  But  I  made 
the  great  mistake  of  merely  reading  it  without 
comparing  it  with  the  Hebrew,  or  any  translation 
— our  own  good  old  English,  for  example.  The 
advantage  derived  was  consequently  very  doubt- 
ful, and  the  impression  made  on  my  mind  soon 
wore  off.  On  June  eighth,  1814,  I  commenced 
the  study  of  the  sacred  history  of  the  Old  Tes- 
tament, intending  to  make  use  of  such  works  as 
I  could  readily  procure.  Among  them  Stack- 
house's  History  of  the  Bible  was  prominent.  In 
examining  the  Pentateuch,  I  availed  myself  of 
Jenning's  Jewish  Antiquities,  and  Graves'  Lec- 
tures on  its  last  four  books.  About  the  same 
time,  I  read  also  Leusden's  Philologus  Hebrseo- 
mixtus,  Bishop  Lowth  on  the  Sacred  Poetry  of 
the  Hebrews,  Gregory's  translation,  studying  the 
quotations  from  the  Old  Testament  in  the  ori- 
ginal, Warburton's  Divine  Legation  of  Moses, 
and  various  other  works  bearing  on  the  subject 
of  the  Scriptures.  At  one  period  I  devoted  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  my  time  to  Latin  and  Greek 


48  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

classics.  Between  October  twenty-third,  1815, 
and  June,  1818,  I  read  the  following  works  in 
Latin :  Cicero  de  Officiis,  his  Orations,  de  Ora- 
tore,  Senectute,  Amicitia,  Paradoxa  ad  M.  Bru- 
tum,  Scipionis  Somninm,  Sallust  Bell.  Catal. 
et  Jugurth.  twice ;  Floras,  Caesar,  Comment,  de 
Bell.  Gallico  et  Civile,  A.  Hirt.  Pansge  Comment, 
de  Bell.  Alexandrino,  Afric.  and  Hisp.,  Suetonius 
de  XII.  Csesaribus,  Taciti  Aunales,  Historia  de 
Moribus  Germanorum,  de  Vita  Agricolse,  and 
Quiuctilian  de  Oratoribus.  During  the  same  pe- 
riod I  read  in  Greek,  Longinus  on  the  Sublime 
three  times,  the  Oration  of  ^Eschines  against 
Ctesiphon  twice,  Chrysostom  on  the  Priesthood 
twice,  Demosthenes  on  the  Crown  twice.  On 
the  twentieth  of  June,  1816,  I  undertook  to 
study  the  Philippics.  I  had  nothing  to  aid 
me  but  the  Greek  text,  and  an  old  and  much- 
worn  edition  of  Scapula's  Lexicon,  which  I  may 
say  I  used  laboriously.  By  the  eighteenth  of 
September  I  had  read  all  the  eleven  Philippics 
carefully,  the  ninth  and  tenth  three  times,  all 
the  others  four,  and  two  five  times.  Philip's 
Letter  to  the  Athenians,  and  the  Oration  on  the 
Letter,  I  read  three  times.  The  only  other 
Greek  classics  which  were  studied  at  that  time 
were  Lucian's  Dialogues,  and  the  Medea  and 
Alcestis  of  Euripides.     These  were  read  twice. 


REV.   DR.  TURNER.  49 

I  read,  also,  but  not  very  carefully,  the  first 
book  of  Origen  against  Celsus.  I  am  still 
very  decidedly  of  the  opinion  that  habitual 
repetition  is  the  most  effectual  process  to  in- 
sure facility  in  understanding  ancient  authors. 
I  must  express  my  regret  that,  in  general,  our 
schools  and  colleges  compel  their  pupils  to 
read  so  much — suffering  them,  4tlso_,  to  advance 
to  the  hio;hest  classes  —  while,  in  numerous  in- 
stances,  little  or  nothing  is  thoroughly  mas 
tered.  It  is  a  fundamental  mistake,  and  a 
main  cause  of  the  general  want  of  accurate 
classical  knowledge. 

In  preparing  my  sermons,  I  laid  it  down  as 
a  principle,  never  to  make  a  positive  statement 
respecting  any  point  of  doctrine  or  fact,  unless 
I  thought  that  I  could  prove  it ;  or,  at  least, 
was  quite  confident  that  it  could  be  maintain- 
ed. Doubtless,  like  many  young  preachers, 
I  often  did  make  incorrect  statements ;  but 
the  habit  I  thereby  acquired,  of  considering 
how  the  truth  of  each  proposition  might  be 
evinced,  made  me  somewhat  cautious,  and,  no 
doubt,  often  led  me  to  correct  a  hastily-formed 
opinion,  or  the  statement  of  an  imperfectly 
known  fact.  I  endeavored,  also,  to  be  gov- 
ered  by  a  rule  which  I  had  seen  laid  down  in 
Claude's  Essay  on  the  Composition  of  a  Sermon, 

3 


50  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

and  which  made  a  strong  impression  on  me  in 
early  life :  explain  tePvMS.  The  application 
of  this  rule  compelled  me  to  consider  carefully 
the  meaning  of  the  declarations  made,  and,  I 
can  not  but  believe,  contributed  to  greater 
accuracy  of  statement.  Indeed,  it  is  my  opin- 
ion, which  ha^been  strengthened  by  the  ob- 
servation of  every  additional  year  of  life,  that 
if  writers ,  on  divinity  had  always  set  this  rule 
before  them,  and  written  in  accordance  with 
it,  the  Church  would  have  been  saved  from 
the  burden  of  a  mass  of  theological  lo^oma- 
ciry.  We  should,  doubtless,  have  had  fewer 
dogmatical  and  controversial  books  than  now 
load  the  shelves  of  libraries;  but  those  few 
would  be  proportionately  more  accurate  and 
intelligent. 

I  continued  to  hold  the  two  parishes  thus 
associated  for  three  years.  At  the  expiration 
of  that  period,  I  relinquished  St.  Paul's,  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Handy  taking  charge  of  that  parish, 
and  confined  myself  to  that  of  Chestertown. 
About  that  time,  or  a  year  before,  I  organized 
a  Sunday-school  in  connection  with  the  church 
in  town.  My  sister  and  some  other  ladies  de- 
voted themselves  to  the  business  of  instruction. 
This  was  among  the  earliest  Sunday-schools 
established  in  our  Church.     Indeed,  I  do  not 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  51 

know  of  any  that  preceded  it,  except  that  in 
the  parish  of  Swedesborough,  nnder  the  care 
of  the  Rev.  Simon  Wilmer.  I  have  reason  to 
believe  that  it  was  very  usefnl  in  the  commu- 
nity, I  succeeded,  also,  in  founding,  in  1816, 
the  Kent  County  Bible  Society,  which  was 
very  generally  patronized.  The  most  decided 
and  high-toned  Episcopalians  of  that  vicinity 
never  seemed  to  think  that  a  union  of  differ- 
ent Christians,  for  the  purpose  of  disseminat- 
ing the  sacred  Scriptures,  could  possibly,  be 
inconsistent  with  sound  church  principles. 

When  I  first  settled  in  Maryland,  the  Right 
Reverend  Thomas  John  Claggett,  who  had 
been  consecrated  September  seventeenth,  1792, 
was  the  diocesan.  lie  appeared  to  be  very 
much  respected  and  beloved,  but  in  conse- 
quence of  his  age  and  infirmities  it  was 
thought  expedient  to  appoint  an  assistant, 
who  should  also  succeed  him  on  his  death. 
At  the  meeting  of  the  Convention  in  Baltimore 
in  1814,  when  the  subject  was  brought  up 
for  consideration,  the  Bishop  did  not  seem  to 
be  favorable  to  this  measure,  and  therefore, 
when  the  question  was  taken,  I  gave  my  vote 
in  the  negative.  My  course  gave  no  slight  sat- 
isfaction to  the  party  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Dash- 
iell,  the  rector  of  St.   Peter's   Church,  Balti- 


52  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

more,  who  was  as  conspicuous  for  the  warmth 
and  earnestness  of  his  preaching  as  he  after- 
wards became  for  his  inconsistent  conduct 
which  caused  his  deposition  from  the  ministry. 
The  majority  of  the  Convention  being  in  favor 
however,  of  having  an  Assistant  Bishop,  it 
was  decided  to  go  into  an  election.  Mr.  Dash- 
iell  endeavored  to  prevail  upon  me  to  vote 
in  such  a  way  as  might  tend  to  prevent  the 
election  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  James  Kemp,  of  Cam- 
bridge, Dorchester  county,  a  prominent  clergy- 
man whom  the  leading  members  of  the  Con- 
vention  had  resolved  to  sustain.  Although  I 
had  voted  in  opposition  to  the  appointment 
of  any  assistant,  yet  when  I  found  that  a  ma- 
jority of  the  Convention  were  in  favor  of  the 
measure,  I  thought  it  quite  consistent  to  yield 
to  the  general  wish,  and  gave  my  vote  for  Dr. 
Kemp.  I  afterwards  saw  a  good  deal  of  this 
gentleman,  and  accompanied  him  during  some 
of  his  visitations  in  Kent  and  Queen  Anne's 
counties,  and  in  a  portion  of  the  State  of  Dela- 
ware which  lay  contiguous  to  Maryland.  I 
found  him  uniformly  kind  and  amiable.  Al- 
though he  was  always  classed  among  what 
are  called  the  high-church  clergy,  yet  his  views 
were  quite  liberal,  and  his  practice  sufficiently 
accommodating.     I  distinctly  recollect  omciat- 


REV.   DR.   TURXER.  53 

ing  for  liira  in  the  church  at  Shrewsbury,  when 
he  directed  me  to  omit  the  ante-communion 
service,  and  preached  immediately  after  I  had 
gone  through  the  morning  prayer.  Some  time 
after  I  left  the  diocese,  he  had  a  difficulty 
with  certain  of  his  clergy,  but  I  am  not  enough 
acquainted  with  its  nature  to  give  any  account 
of  or  to  express  any  opinion  about  it.  His 
memory  is  deservedly  cherished  by  the  Church. 
During  the  war  between  the  United  States 
and  Great  Britain,  which  commenced  in  1812, 
the  counties  lying  on  the  Chesapeake  Bay  and 
the  rivers  emptying  into  it,  were  very  much 
annoyed  by  the  enemy.  Country  places  were 
rifled  and  destroyed,  and  villages  burned. 
Among  the  latter  were  Georgetown  and  Fred- 
erick, on  the  Sassafras  river,  the  former  in 
Kent  county,  and  the  latter  in  Cecil,  directly 
opposite,  about  nineteen  miles  north-east  of 
Chestertown.  The  alarm  and  agitation  pro- 
duced, and  the  apprehension  that  this  town 
would  soon  be  subjected  to  the  same  fate,  in- 
duced a  large  proportion  of  the  inhabitants  to 
remove  their  most  valuable  furniture  and  other 
property  into  the  country.  Happily,  however, 
we  escaped  the  apprehended  evil,  though  not 
without  the  occurrence  of  events  fitted  to 
deepen  our  sense  of  thankfulness  at  our  ex- 
emption. 


54  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

On  the  night  of  the  thirtieth  of  August  a 
party  of  men  under  the  command  of  Sir  Peter 
Parker,  landed  and  marched  some  miles  into 
the  interior,  to  an  open  space  called,  from  the 
owner  of  the  farm  to  which  it  belonged, 
Caulk's  field,  which  was  about  nine  miles  from 
Chester.  A  small  company  of  militia,  gath- 
ered from  the  town  and  the  surrounding 
county,  were  encamped  in  the  vicinity,  under 
the  command  of  Col.  Philip  Reed.  Ezekiel 
F.  Chambers,  Isaac  Spenser,  John  B.  Eccles- 
ton,  Esqs.,  and  Major  and  Captain  Hickes  were 
among  the  leading  officers.  These  were  all, 
except  one,  communicants  of  my  church.  The 
moon  was  full,  and  the  sky  perfectly  clear  and 
bright.  The  Americans  had  been  lying  under 
the  shelter  of  a  thick  wood,  and  when  they 
emerged  into  the  open  field  an  engagement 
took  place  between  the  two  parties.  The 
Americans  had  the  decided  advantage  of 
being,  from  their  practice  of  shooting  canvas- 
back  ducks  and  other  such  game,  well-trained 
and  skillful  marksmen.  The  conflict  was  of 
short  duration,  and  the  enemy,  although 
greatly  superior  in  numbers,  were  soon  com- 
pelled to  quit  the  field,  carrying  with  them 
many  who  were  wounded,  and  leaving  one 
midshipman  and  eight  men  dead  on  the  field, 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  55 

besides  nine  so  much  injured  that  six  died  in 
the  course  of  a  few  hours.  A  contemporary- 
writes  :*  "  Sir  Peter  Parker  of  the  Menelaus, 
one  of  the  most  distinguished  officers  of  the 
British  navy,  was  among  the  slain.  He  was 
mortally  wounded  with  a  buckshot,  and  died 
before  reaching  the  barges,  to  which  he  was 
conveyed  by  his  men.  Certain  information 
from  the  enemy  assures  us  that  their  total  loss 
in  killed  and  wounded  was  forty -two  or  forty- 
three,  including  two  wounded  lieutenants." 
Perhaps  the  unnatural  excitement  of  the  foe 
exposed  them  the  more  to  their  cool  and  de- 
liberate antagonists,  the  British,  it  w^as  said, 
having  spent  the  early  part  of  the  night  in 
carousing.  It  is  a  very  remarkable  fact  that 
not  a  single  American  lost  his  life,  and  only 
one  received  a  wound,  and  that  not  serious. 
Balls  passed  through  the  coats  of  several,  but 
by  the  particular  providence  of  God,  their  per- 
sons were  preserved  from  harm.  I  have  been 
surprised  that  this  engagement  excited  at  the 
time  so  little  general  attention,  and  has  since 
been  scarcely  ever  noted. 

On  the  announcement  of  peace  there  was  a 

*  Letter  of  Col.  Reed  to  Brig.-Gen.  Benjamin  Chambers,  dated  Camp 
at  Belle  Aire,  third  Sept.,  1814,  published  in  the  Kent  Inquirer  of  June 
thirtieth,  1832,  and  republished  in  the  Kent  News,  Chestertown,  Md., 
of  Feb.  seventh,  1857. 


56  AUTOBIOGRAPHY   OF 

general  rejoicing.  The  town  was  illuminated, 
and  the  windows  ornamented  with  appropriate 
devices.  An  old  inhabitant,  an  earnest  Me- 
thodist, William  Harris,  was  particularly  grati- 
fied by  seeing  in  the  window  of  my  house, 
illuminated  portions  from  Psalms  46  :  9,* 
118  :  27,f  and  one  or  two  other  similar  texts. 
From  the  latter  passage  of  the  Psalms  I 
preached  on  April  thirteenth,  1815,  that  being 
the  day  appointed  for  a  general  thanksgiving. 
Of  course  I  did  not  omit  to  call  the  attention 
of  the  congregation  to  the  remarkable  fact 
that  not  an  individual  had  been  killed  in  the 
various  engagements  and  skirmishes  in  which 
they  had  taken  part,  and  to  urge  it  as  a  reason 
for  special  gratitude  to  God. 

*  He  maketh  wars  to  cease  unto  the  ends  of  the  earth ;  he  breaketh 
the  bow,  and  cutteth  the  spear  in  sunder ;  he  burneth  the  chariot  in 
the  fire. 

f  God  is  the  Lord,  which  hath  showed  us  light :  bind  the  sacrifice 
with  cords,  even  unto  the  horns  of  the  altar. 


REV.   DR.  TURNER.  57 


CHAPTER    III. 

Pernicious  Effects  of  Climate  and  Slavery — He  is  offered  a  Pro- 
fessorship at  Annapolis — Leaves  Chestertown — Call  to  Ger- 
mantown,  Pa. — St.  Ann's,  Brooklyn — Elizabeth,  New- Jersey 
— Rev.  Dr.  Bowen — Grace  Church,  New- York — Dr.  Jarvis — 
Return  to  Philadelphia — Visits  Chestertown,  Washington,  and 
various  places  in  Virginia,  returning  by  Central  Pennsylvania — 
His  Mother's  Death — Her  Character — Historical  and  Theologi- 
cal* Studies — Labors  in  Philadelphia — Trinity  Church  the  Re- 
sult— Preached  the  Opening  Sermon. 

During  the  time  of  ray  residence  in  Mary- 
land, most  parts  of  the  Eastern  Shore  were 
subject  to  agues  and  intermittent  fevers ;  and 
much  exposure  to  the  hot  sun  and  the  heavy 
dews  of  June,  July,  and  August  was  very 
likely  to  produce  disease.  The  long  and  un- 
varying continuance  also  of  the  warmth  of 
summer  tended  to  enervate  the  constitution. 
I  often  felt  the  effects  of  the  climate  in  produc- 
ing lassitude  and  weariness.  In  1816,  I  had 
an  attack  of  intermittent,  which  for  a  consid- 
erable time  incapacitated  me  for  parochial 
duty,  and  enfeebled  my  constitution.  As  I 
perceived  that  the  effect  of  repeated  attacks 
of  this  sort  was  to  injure  the  physical  system 
and  to  induce   other   diseases   not   easily  re- 

3* 


58  AUTOBIOGEAPHY  OF 

moved,  I  began  to  entertain  serious  thoughts  of 
transferring  my  residence  to  a  more  northern 
and  salubrious  climate.  The  pernicious  effects 
also  of  slavery  on  habits  and  energies  had  con- 
siderable influence  in  ripening  my  thoughts 
and  feelings  into  a  fixed  determination.  I 
could  have  settled,  and  in  some  respects  advan- 
tageously, at  Annapolis.  I  had  an  offer  of  a 
Latin  professorship  in  the  college  at  one  thou- 
sand dollars  a  year,  in  connection  with  which 
position  I  could  have  obtained  a  church  intthe 
neighborhood  with  a  salary  of  six  hundred 
dollars.  Bat  I  did  not  choose  to  accept  a  po- 
sition which  I  should  not  have  been  willing  to 
retain.  In  the  summer  of  1817  I  resigned  my 
charge  of  the  church  at  Ohestertown,  which  I 
had  held  for  five  years  and  a  half.  I  preached 
my  farewell  sermon  on  the  morning  of  August 
tenth,  1817,  from  Phil.  4  :  7,  having  com- 
menced the  subject  suggested  by  the  text  on 
the  previous  Sunday.  I  left  my  parishioners 
with  feelings  of  sincere  regard  and  affection, 
which,  I  have  good  reason  to  believe,  were 
very  generally  reciprocated. 

When  I  resigned  the  church  at  Chestertown, 
I  expected  to  go  immediately  to  Germantown, 
near  Philadelphia,  to  become  pastor  of  a  newly 
formed  congregation  in  that  place.     There  was 


REV.   DK.   TURNER.  59 

at  that  time,  no  church-edifice,  but  it  was  ex- 
pected that  arrangements  for  erecting  one 
would  be  carried  into  effect  without  delay ;  and 
these  expectations  were  soon  afterwards  real- 
ized. The  situation  of  rector  had  been  offered 
to  me ;  but  as  I  delayed  for  some  time  to  give 
a  decided  answer,  some  of  the  leading  men  be- 
came dissatisfied,  and  they  called  another  can- 
didate, the  Rev.  Mr.  Dupuy  of  Philadelphia, 
who  accepted  the  invitation. 

I  could  not  blame  the  vestry  for  thus 
23assing  me  over,  as  they  might  reasonably 
have  expectea  a  prompt  reply,  and  perhaps 
they  considered  my  delay  as  disrespectful. 
The  cause  of  my  not  immediately  accept- 
ing the  offer  will  appear  from  what  follows. 
Before  I  was  invited  to  Germantown,  my  old 
friend,  Mr.  Feltus,  who  for  some  years  had 
been  rector  of  St.  Ann's  Church,  Brooklyn, 
L.  I.,  had  been  called  to  St.  Stephen's,  New- 
York,  to  succeed  the  Rev.  Richard  Channing 
Moore,  who  had  been  consecrated  Bishop  of 
the  diocese  of  Virginia.  Mr.  Feltus,  still  re- 
taining his  former  friendship  for  me,  was  desir- 
ous that  I  should  succeed  him.  The  situation 
would  have  been  to  me  very  agreeable.  Ac- 
cordingly, at  his  solicitation,  I  made  him  a  visit, 
and  officiated  in  his  church.     He  assured  me 


60  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

that  there  was  no  doubt  of  niy  being  chosen ; 
consequently,  I  expected  to  receive  the  call, 
and  therefore  delayed  for  a  time  my  reply  to 
the  invitation  from  Gerinantown. 

On  this  occasion,  however,  I  fell  between  two 
tubs.  When  I  consented  to  appear  as  a  candi- 
date for  St.  Ann's,  I  was  not  aware  that  the 
friends  of  another  clergyman,  a  young  deacon 
lately  ordained,  were  endeavoring  to  secure  the 
place  for  him.  He  had  the  decided  advantage 
of  being  personally  known,  as  he  had  married 
the  dauo-hter  of  an  influential  member  of  the 
vestry.  I  was  told,  also,  that  ]#s  appointment 
was  strongly  favored  by  the  bishop  of  the  dio- 
cese. The  result  was,  that  he  was  chosen  by  a 
majority  of  one.  Afterward  his  health  became 
impaired.  A  Southern  climate  was  thought 
desirable,  and  he  removed  to  Augusta,  in 
Georgia.  Subsequently,  he  came  to  the  North, 
and  settled  first  in  Hartford,  Connecticut,  after- 
wards in  the  Mission  Church  in  Vande water 
street,  New- York,  and  lastly,  as  rector  of  St. 
Peters  Church,  where  he  died,  generally  es- 
teemed and  beloved.  I  refer  to  my  respect- 
ed friend,  the  He  v.  Dr.  Hugh  Smith. 

Thus  I  failed  to  get  the  parish  of  my  old  ac- 
quaintance and  adviser,  and  lost,  I  may  say, 
that  of  Germantown.    But  all  these  matters  are 


REV.    DR.   TURNER.  61 

subject  to  the  working  of  Providence,  whose 
agency  gradually  discloses  itself  out  of  the 
dark  recesses  of  human  error  and  disappoint- 
ment. Before  I  left  Chestertown,  it  was  sus:- 
gested  to  me  by  a  friend,  who  was  one  of  the 
vestry,  to  withdraw  my  resignation.  But  I 
could  not  consent  to  do  this,  as  my  reason  for 
desiring  a  more  northern  residence  "still  remain- 
ed in  full  force.  I  therefore  sold  my  furniture 
and  returned  to  my  father's.  I  had  not  been 
there  more  than  two  or  three  weeks,  when  I 
received  a  request  to  supply  the  place  of  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Rudcl,  of  Elizabethtown,  New-Jersey, 
who  wished  to  go  to  Ohio,  and  other  parts  of 
the  "Western  country,  and  expected  to  be  ab- 
sent two  or  three  months.  As  my  expenses 
were  to  be  paid,  and  I  had  no  particular  em- 
ployment in  view,  and  was  informed,  also,  that 
the  society  was  agreeable  and  the  town  pleas- 
ant, and  as  it  was  in  the  vicinity  of  New- York, 
where  my  sister,  Mrs.  Warner,  and  her  daugh- 
ter resided,  I  complied  with  the  request,  and 
removed  to  Elizabethtown.  There  I  spent  ten 
weeks  most  agreeably,  and,  I  hope,  somewhat 
usefully.  I  officiated  twice  every  Sunday,  and 
had  evening  lectures  during  the  week.  Six  of 
these  were  on  the  Communion  Service.  The 
course  was  imperfect,  as  the  rector  returned 


62  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

before  I  had  time  to  complete  it.  The  ac- 
quaintances I  formed  there  were  exceedingly 
kind  and  friendly  ;  several  were  highly  intelli- 
gent, and  some  ranked  among  the  most  respect- 
able families  in  the  State.  On  my  leaving 
them,  at  the  return  of  Dr.  Rudd,  the  ladies  of 
the  congregation  presented  me  with  a  hand- 
some gown  and  cloth  cloak,  together  with  some 
bands  and  cambric  pocket-handkerchiefs.  The 
donation  was  accompanied  by  a  very  kind  and. 
courteous  note,  to  which  I  need  hardly  add 
that  I  replied  as  my  feelings  dictated,  and  in 
such  terms  as  the  sincere  respect,  which  I  cher- 
ished for  them,  naturally  prompted. 

As  the  proximity  of  Elizabethtown  to  New- 
York  led  me  to  make  occasional  visits  to  the 
city,  I  became  the  better  acquainted  with  some 
of  the  clergy  whom  I  had  known  slightly  be- 
fore. One  of  the  most  distinguished  for  intelli- 
gence, gentlemanly  bearing,  and  Christian  cha- 
racter, was  the  Rev.  Nathaniel  Bowen,  D.D., 
rector  of  Grace  Church.  The  death  of  that 
most  estimable  and  devoted  man,  Bishop 
Dehon,  having  left  the  Diocese  of  South-Caro- 
lina vacant,  Dr.  Bowen  was  chosen  to  succeed 
him.  Before  determining  whether  to  accept  the 
appointment  or  not,  he  was  desirous  of  making 
a  visit  to  the  diocese.     Soon  after  my  engage- 


KEY.   DR.   TURNER.  63 

ment  at  Elizabethtown  had  expired,  he  pro- 
posed to  me  to  supply  his  place  in  Grace 
Church,  during  the  winter,  that  he  might  make 
his  contemplated  visit.  I  feared  to  undertake 
so  responsible  a  charge.  My  health  was  not 
very  good,  as  the  influence  of  the  climate  of 
Kent  county  had  not  been  favorable  to  my 
constitution,  and  my  residence  in  the  flat  region 
of  Elizabethtown  had  not  invigorated  it.  In 
order  to  diminish  the  amount  of  duty,  the  rec- 
tor proposed  that  I  should  officiate  in  the  morn- 
ings, intending  to  secure  the  services  of  Dr.  Jar 
vis,  then  rector  of  St.  Michael's,  Bloomingdale, 
for  the  afternoons.  I  consented  to  this  arrange- 
ment,  and  the  month  of  December  found  me 
residing  in  New- York,  and  filling  as  well  as  I 
could,  the  position  of  the  rector  of  Grace 
Church.  As  Dr.  Jarvis  took  the  afternoon 
service,  I  became  intimately  acquainted  with 
him. 

My  temporary  connection  with  Grace  Church 
was  the  occasion  of  my  forming  friendships 
with  some  most  estimable  persons,  with  whom 
I  should  otherwise  have  had  nothing  more  than 
a  passing  acquaintance  I  became  somewhat 
intimate  with  the  celebrated  jurist,  David  B. 
Ogden;  also  with  the  distinguished  John 
Wells,  with  whose  eldest  son  and  daughters  I 


64:  AUTOBIOGEAPHY  OF 

have  had  the  satisfaction  of  cultivating  a  warm 
friendship  during  a  long  course  of  years.  I 
formed  an  intimacy,  also,  with  the  family  of 
Mr.  Isaac  Lawrence,  and  received  from  them"  a 
continued  succession  of  kindnesses,  and  with 
John  Pintard,  one  of  the  warmest-hearted  and 
most  generous  of  men.  These  friendships  last- 
ed till  death  dissolved  the  earthly  tie,  and  thus 
prepared  the  way,  as  I  trust,  for  a  closer  con- 
nection hereafter. 

In  April,  1818,  I  returned  to  Philadelphia. 
My  health  had  not  been  firm  during  the  win- 
ter, and,  as  spring  advanced,  I  resolved  to  take 
the  advice  of  the  family,  and  make  a  journey 
on  horseback.  I  procured,  therefore,  a  very 
pleasant  little  horse,  and  some  time  in  June 
set  out  on  my  excursion.  I  bent  my  course 
first  to  Chestertown,  where  I  made  a  very 
agreeable  visit  among  my  old  friends  and  par- 
ishioners. Crossing  the  Chesapeake  in  a  pack- 
et from  Rock  Hall,  steamers  not  being  then  in 
use,  I  went  to  Baltimore.  From  there  I  rode 
to  Annapolis,  Georgetown,  Washington,  and 
"*then  to  Alexandria,  to  see  my  former  friend, 
Dr.  William  Wilmer.  He  took  me  to  Mount 
Vernon,  where  I  had  the  gratification,  though 
not  unmingled  with  melancholy,  of  visiting 
Washington's  tomb,  so  little  worthy  of  such  a 


REV.   DR.  TURNER.  65 

man,  and  of  going  through  his  residence.  Af- 
terwards I  directed  my  course  westward  in 
Loudon  county,  along  the  Potomac,  to  Har- 
per's Ferry.  In  consequence  of  abundant 
rains,  I  got  but  an  imperfect  view  of  the 
magnificent  scenery.  Leaving  this  point,  I 
went  to  Hancock.  As  there  was  no  regular 
ferry  at  this  place,  I  crossed  the  river  in  a 
small  boat,  my  horse  swimming  by  the  side  of 
it.  A  ride  of  eio;ht  miles  brought  me  to  Bath, 
a  beautiful  spot,  frequented  in  the  summer 
by  gentry  from  the  vicinity,  for  health  and 
pleasure.  As  the  season  was  not  sufficiently 
advanced  for  company,  I  found  myself  alone  in 
the  spacious  mansion.  The  next  day  I  return- 
ed to  Hancock,  and,  crossing  Sideling  Hill  and 
other  mountainous  elevations,  where,  for  miles, 
I  saw  scarcely  a  solitary  house,  I  journeyed  on 
to  Bedford  Springs.  After  riding  some  dis- 
tance along  the  Juniata  river,  I  returned 
home  by  the  way  of  Carlisle,  Harrisburgh,  and 
Lancaster,  having  been  absent  about  six  weeks. 
During  all  this  time,  I  met  with  only  one 
accident.  One  day,  on  a  turnpike  near  the 
Juniata,  my  attention  wras  attracted  by  a  man 
lying  in  a  state  of  intoxication  on  the  side  of 
the  road.  Thinking  he  might  be  ill,  I  rode 
hastily  across,  and  as  I  was  bending  on  one 


66  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

side  to  look  at  him  the  more  closely,  my  horse 
shied,  and  threw  me  on  the  hard  ground. 
Running  off  immediately,  he  dragged  me  a 
short  distance,  till,  my  shoe  being  pulled  off, 
I  was  left  lying  on  the  road.  Fortunately,  I 
had  not  for  some  time  been  accustomed  to 
wear  boots,  and  made  the  whole  journey  with 
shoes;  otherwise,  I  might  have  been  severely 
injured.  I  was  somewhat  bruised,  but  soon 
arose  and  went  after  my  horse,  which  had 
been  stopped  at  a  neighboring  toll-gate. 

On  arriving  at  Philadelphia,  I  was  met  near 
my  father's  house  by  a  man  whom  I  had  occa- 
sionally seen  before,  as  he  lived  in  the  neigh- 
borhood. He  accosted  me  in  the  words : 
"  Well,  you  have  heard  the  news,  I  suppose  V 
On  inquiring  what  he  meant,  he  shocked  me 
with  the  intelligence  that  my  mother  had  died 
suddenly  the  day  before.  Arriving  at  the 
house,  I  found  my  father  and  sisters  in  deep 
distress.  However  greatly  I  lamented  my  ab- 
sence on  occasion  of  this  bereavement,  I  could 
not  but  feel  thankful  that  I  had  been  permitted 
to  return  home  in  health,  and  in  time  enough  to 
see  my  dear  mother's  remains  consigned  to  the 
tomb.  She  had  lived  to  a  good  old  age,  hav- 
ing passed  the  period  of  three-score  years  and 
ten,  greatly  respected  and  beloved  by  all  who 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  67 

knew  her.  Without  the  least  intention  of 
writing  her  eulogy,  I  must  say  that  she  was  a 
sincerely  pious,  humble  Christian  woman,  and 
attached  to  the  Episcopal  Church  of  her  fa- 
thers, in  which  she  had  been  educated,  and 
had  always  continued  a  devoted  member. 
Her  life  was  governed  by  a  conscientious  sense 
of  duty.  In  her  domestic  relations,  she  com- 
bined kindness  with  energy,  and  was  noted 
for  habitual  attention  to  all  family  duties. 
She  was  indefatigable  in  her  endeavors  to  pro- 
mote the  interests  and  wishes  of  those  with 
whom  she  had  formed  friendships.  As  a 
neighbor,  she  was  always  disposed  to  assist 
any  who  might  need  offices  of  kindness;  and 
especially  the  poor,  who  were  in  the  habit  of 
soliciting  advice  and  help  in  cases  of  sickness. 
Her  knowledge  of  the  nature  of  some  diseases, 
and  the  character  and  action  of  certain  medi- 
cines, which  was  obtained  probably  from  her 
father,  peculiarly  fitted  her  for  this.  Some 
years  before  her  death,  she  had  suffered  se- 
verely from  a  paralytic  attack,  from  which 
she  gradually  recovered.  A  second  succeeded 
it ;  and  the  third,  which  most  probably  was 
also  apoplectic,  carried  her  off  suddenly.  Her 
death  took  place  on  the  seventeenth  day  of 
June,  1818.     A  letter,  apprising  me  of  her  ill- 


68  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

ness,  had  been  sent  to  Lancaster,  "but  I  had  left 
there  before  it  arrived. 

I  now  settled  myself  at  the  old  paternal 
mansion,  reading  history,  and  pursuing  theolo- 
gical studies.  In  the  autumn,  or  early  in  the 
winter,  I  established  a  Sunday-night  lecture  at 
a  school-room  opposite  our  house,  and  gathered 
together  a  small  congregation.  Subsequently 
a  large  room  was  secured  in  a  public  building 
two  streets  below,  which  was  known  by  the 
name  of  the  Commissioners'  Hall.  The  Rev. 
William  Richmond,  originally  of  Providence, 
Rhode  Island,  who  had  been  a  candidate  for 
the  ministry  in  the  city  of  New- York,  and  late- 
ly admitted  to  deacons'  orders,  was  invited  to 
take  charge  of  the  congregation.  He  became 
very  intimate  with  my  father,  who  conceived  a 
strong  attachment  to  him.  Efforts  were  soon 
made  to  build  a  church.  The  site  selected  was 
on  Catherine  street,  directly  opposite  our  vege- 
table-garden. Three  lots  were  obtained,  and 
subscriptions  taken  to  raise  the  necessary  funds. 
My  father  gave  one  thousand  dollars ;  and  my 
sisters,  with  the  aid  of  a  few  friends,  establish- 
ed what  was  called  a  Mite  Society,  which  col- 
lected at  various  times,  in  small  sums,  the 
amount  of  three  thousand  dollars.  A  neat 
and  comfortable  brick  building  was   put   up, 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  69 

at  the  cost  of  seven  thousand  dollars.  My 
father,  however,  did  not  live  to  see  the  com- 
pletion of  Trinity  Church,  that  being  the  name 
by  which  it  was  called,  in  accordance  with  his 
wish.  I  had  been  then  residing  in  New- York 
for  some  time,  but  being  requested  by  Bishop 
White,  who  knew  the  interest  that  our  family 
had  taken  in  the  church,  and  the  efforts  made 
by  them  to  secure  its  permanent  establishment, 
to  deliver  the  opening  sermon,  I  was  present 
at  its  consecration.  This  took  place  on  the 
morning  of  January  seventeenth,  1822,  when  I 
preached  from  Psalm  95  :  6,  on  the  subject  of 
public  worship.  Mr.  Richmond  having  al- 
ready accepted  a  call  to  St.  Michael's,  Bloom- 
ingdale,  New- York,  the  vestry  invited  the  Rev. 
Manning  Brinkly  Roche  to  take  charge  of  the 
parish.  He  remained,  however,  but  a  short 
time,  and  was  succeeded  by  the  Rev.  Levi 
Silliman  Ives,  who  afterwards  made  himself 
so  noted  by  apostatizing  to  Rome,  after  having 
exercised  for  several  years  the  office  of  Bishop 
in  North-Carolina.  By  this  act  he  disclosed 
theological  views  at  utter  variance  with  those 
held  by  him  while  rector  of  Trinity  Church. 
After  him,  the  Rev.  William  C.  Mead,  now 
rector  of  the  church  in  Norwalk,  Connecticut, 
became  the  pastor,  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Coleman 
succeeded  him. 


70  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 


CHAPTEE    IV. 

Appointed  Superintendent  of  the  Theological  School  in  Phila- 
delphia— Bishop  Alonzo  Potter  his  first  Pupil — Translation  of 
"Bochart's  Phaleg" — A  General  Theological  Seminary  Pro- 
posed in  the  General  Convention — Measures  Taken  for  its  Es- 
tablishment— History  of  its  Formation  and  Organization — 
Mr.  Turner  Elected  Professor  of  "Historic  Theology"  — 
Charged  Temporarily  with  the  Duties  of  the  Professor  of  Syc* 
tematic  Theology — Dr.  C.  C.  Moore's  Gift  to  the  Seminary — 
Rev.  Dr.  Gadsden's  "Statement  for  the  Seminary" — South- 
Carolina  its  Originator — The  Error  of  the  Bishop  of  Oxford  in 
ascribing  it  to  the  Influence  of  Bishop  Hobart — First  Stu- 
dents in  the  Seminary — Professor  Turner's  Course  of  Instruc- 
tion. 

In  tlie  latter  part  of  the  year  1818,  the 
Society  for  the  Advancement  of  Christianity 
in  Pennsylvania,  appropriated  a  sum  of  money, 
to  a  "  clergyman,  whose  duty  it  should  be  to  act 
as  a  teacher  of  theology,  provided  the  ecclesi- 
astical authority  of  the  State  (diocese)  should 
make  such  appointment."*  The  authority  re- 
ferred to  was  no  doubt  the  Bishop  of  the  dio- 
cese, acting  probably  in  connection  with  the 
standing  committee ;  and  it  conferred  on  me  the 
appointment  of  "  Superintendent  of  Theological 

*  Seventh  Annual  Report,  read  at  St.  James's  Church,  January  sixth, 
1819. 


REV.  DR.  TURNER.  71 

Students."  The  salary  was  merely  nominal, 
only  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  a  year. 
My  duty  was  to  direct  their  studies,  and  hear 
them  recite.  The  arrangement  lasted  but  a  very 
short  time,  being  superseded  by  another  of  a 
more  definite  and  permanent  character.  Only 
two  candidates  attended  me  regularly.  One 
of  them  was  Mr.  Samuel  Sitgreaves,  of  Easton, 
Pennsylvania,  a  nephew  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  (now 
Bishop)  Kemper,  who  at  that  time  was  one 
of  the  assistant  ministers  of  the  three  united 
churches  of  which  Bishop  White  was  rector. 
Mr.  Sitgreaves  died  not  many  years  afterwards. 
The  other  student  was  Alonzo  Potter,  who  has 
since  made  himself  so  eminent  as  a  man  and  a 
scholar,  and  who  now  fills  the  office  of  Bishop  in 
the  diocese  of  Pennsylvania,  with  so  much  honor 
to  himself,  usefulness  to  the  Church,  and  benefit 
to  the  cause  of  learning  and  religion.  When 
a  student  he  gave  evidence  of  that  quickness 
and  accuracy  of  perception,  that  varied  and 
extensive  information,  that  sound  and  discrim- 
inating mind,  for  which  he  has  been  distin- 
guished through  life.  When  he  entered  upon 
the  study  of  divinity,  he  had  not  received  bap- 
tism. On  occasion  of  his  public  admission  by 
this  holy  sacrament  into  the  church  of  Christ, 
which  took  place  in  St.  Peter's,  Philadelphia, 


72  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

the  Bishop  officiating,  I  was  his  witness.  Ever 
since  that  period,  I  have  had  the  satisfaction  of 
an  intimate  acquaintance  with  my  first  pupil, 
to  whom  I  felt  at  the  time,  that  I  was  not  com- 
petent to  give  such  instruction  as  was  adapted 
to  his  intellectual  ability. 

During  my  previous  residence  at  Elizabeth- 
town  and  New- York,  I  had  employed  a  good 
deal  of  my  leisure  time  on  a  translation  into 
English  of  Bochart's  Phaleg.  This  is  the  first 
part  of  his  Geogrwpliia  Sacra.  After  examining 
in  the  first  book,  various  topics  suggested  by  a 
comparison  of  facts  and  statements  in  Genesis 
with  correspondences,  real  or  supposed,  which 
are  contained  in  classical  and  oriental  antiquity, 
the  author,  in  the  three  following,  draws  from 
the  same  ancient  sources  all  that  can  be  found 
relating  respectively  to  the  posterity  of  Shem, 
Japhet  and  Ham.  The  second  part,  which  is 
in  two  books,  occupies  about  as  much  space  as 
the  four  of  the  former,  and  treats  of  the  colo- 
nies and  language  of  the  Phoenicians.  I  had 
begun  the  translation  some  years  before,  in- 
tending to  go  through  both  parts.  This  work, 
which  seems  to  have  exhausted  all  the  ancient 
sources  of  information,  on  the  geographical, 
historical,  and  philological  points  of  which  it 
treats,  was  made  known  to  me  by  Dr.  Wylie, 


REV.    DR.   TURNER.  73 

while  I  was  pursuing  with  him  the  study  of 
Hebrew,  and  I  examined  a  good  deal  of  it 
with  much  interest.  Along  with  it  I  read 
Gale's  Court  of  the  Gentiles,  a  very  curious  and 
learned  production,  which  the  Doctor  lent  me, 
the  author  of  which  borrowed  largely  from 
Bochart.  I  for  a  long  time  cherished  the  idea 
that  a  translation  of  this  work  would  be  high- 
ly acceptable  to  literary  people,  and  particu- 
larly to  the  clergy,  who  would  eagerly  seize 
the  opportunity  of  making  themselves  ac- 
quainted with  its  ancient  treasures,  and  of 
confirming  thereby  their  faith  in  the  state- 
ments of  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures,  es- 
pecially of  the  Book  of  Genesis.  Under  this 
impression,  I  worked  assiduously  until  I  had 
got  into  the  third  book,  when  my  enthusiasm 
cooled  very  much,  and  I  brought  my  trans- 
lating labors  to  a  close.  The  numerous  quo- 
tations from  Latin  and  Greek  writers  I  left, 
untranslated,  which  was  a  great  mistake,  as  the 
English  reader  would  have  required  a  version 
of  those,  as  well  as  of  the  author's  language. 
After  abandoning  the  undertaking,  I  never  at- 
tempted to  revise  the  translation,  and  have 
scarcely  looked  at  the  manuscript  since.  The 
profoundly  learned  work  remains  in  its  origi- 
nal dress,  for  students  who  can  read  Latin,  and 
4 


74  AUTOBIOGKAPHY  OF 

are  willing  to  take  some  trouble  in  order  to 
acquire  such  antiquarian  lore  as  tends  to  eluci- 
date and  confirm  the  word  of  God. 

The  subject  of  a  Theological  Seminary,  for  the 
benefit  of  candidates  for  the  ministry,  had  for 
some  years  past  engaged  the  attention  of  some 
of  the  most  prominent  bishops  and  clergy  of 
the  Episcopal  Church.  Such  institutions  were 
already  in  existence  in  several  other  denomina- 
tions, some  of  them  in  active  operation,  and 
one  at  least — that  of  Andover,  Massachusetts 
— largely  endowed  and  flourishing.  The  mat- 
ter was  brought  for  consideration  before  the 
General  Convention  held  in  the  city  of  New- 
York  in  May,  1817.  On  the  twenty-sixth,  the 
House  of  Bishops  adopted  the  following  reso- 
lutions, which  had  been  drawn  up  by  Bishop 
Dehon  :* 

"  Hesolved,  That  it  is  expedient  to  establish, 
for  the  better  education  of  the  candidates  for 
holy  orders  in  this  Church,  a  General  Theologi- 
cal Seminary,  which  may  have  the  united  sup- 
port of  the  whole  Church  in  these  United 
States,  and  be  under  the  superintendence  and 
control  of  the  General  Convention. 

"  Hesolved,  That  this  Seminary  be  located 
in  the  city  of  New- York. 

*  See  Dr.  Gadsden's  Statement  made  in  the  Convention  of  South- 
Carolina,  February  nineteenth,  1819. 


EEV.   DR.   TURNER.  75 

"Resolved,  That  persons  be  appointed 

by  the  House  of  Bishops  to  visit  the  several 
jjarts  of  the  United  States,  and  solicit  contri- 
butions towards  funds  for  founding  and  endow- 
ing such  an  institution. 

"Resolved,  That  a  Committee  be  appointed, 
to  consist  of  the  presiding  Bishop,  and  the 
Bishops  of  this  Church  in  New- York  and  New- 
Jersey,  with  three  clergymen  and  three  lay- 
men, to  be  appointed  by  the  House  of  Clerical 
and  Lay  Deputies ;  which  Committee  shall  be 
empowered  to  receive  and  manage  such  funds 
as  shall  be  collected — to  devise  a  plan  for  es- 
tablishing and  carrying  into  operation  such  an 
institution  ;  which  plan  shall  be  communicated 
to  the  several  Bishops  of  this  Church ;  and  in 
the  event  of  sufficient  funds  being  obtained, 
if  a  majority  of  the  Bishops  shall  have  ap- 
proved the  plan,  to  carry  it  into  immediate 
operation." 

"  These  resolutions  were  concurred  in  by  the 
House  of  Clerical  and  Lay  Deputies ;  and  they 
appointed  as  a  Committee  on  their  part,  the 
following  gentlemen,  namely : 

"  Of  the  Clergy — The  Rev.  Dr.  "Wharton, 
the  Rev.  Dr.  How,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Harris. 

"  Of  the  Laity — Hon.  Rttfits  Kino,  William 
Meredith,  Esq.,  Hon.  Charles  F.  Mercer." 


76  AUTOBIOGKAPHY  OF 

In  accordance  with  one  of  the  resolutions, 
"  the  Rev.  Daniel  Bueiians,  of  Newtown,  Con- 
necticut, the  Rev.  Nathaniel  Bowen,  D.D.,  of 
the  city  of  New- York,  and  the  Rev.  William 
H.  Wilmee,  of  Alexandria,"  were  appointed 
to  solicit  contributions  in  different  States  for 
the  proposed  institution.  Each  of  these  gen- 
tlemen was  furnished  with  the  necessary  pa- 
pers, certified  by  the  presiding  Bishop,  who 
also  accompanied  them  with  a  lucid  exposition 
of  his  own  views  and  those  of  his  Episcopal 
brethren,  on  the  great  importance  and  useful- 
ness of  a  proper  theological  training  for  the 
ministry,  and  the  advantages  which  might  rea- 
sonably be  expected  to  result  from  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  Seminary  for  the  purpose. 

In  the  month  of  October,  of  the  same  year, 
Bishop  Hobart  addressed  the  Convention  of 
the  State  of  New- York  on  the  same  subject. 
He  began  by  the  statement  that  "without  a 
ministry,  the  Church  can  not  exist  /  and  desti- 
tute of  a  learned  as  well  as  a  pious  ministry, 
she  can  not  flourish"  He  then  proceeded  to' 
show  the  vast  importance  of  establishing  the 
proposed  divinity-school,  and  urged  the  duty 
of  making  liberal  contributions,  in  order  to 
carry  the  design  into  vigorous  effect. 

On  the  twelfth  of  December,  Bishop  White, 


.REV.   DR.  TURNER.  77 

as  Chairman  of  the  Theological  Committee 
appointed  by  the  General  Convention,  increas- 
ed the  number  of  persons  to  collect  contribu- 
tions by  adding  twenty-five  names  of  gentle- 
men resident  in  the  city  of  New- York,  seven 
of  whom  were  clergymen.  This  was  done  in 
accordance  with  the  wish  of  Dr.  Bowen,  and 
at  the  representation  of  New- York   members. 

On  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  of  January, 
1818,  the  Committee  held  a  meeting  in  Phila- 
delphia, and  adopted  certain  resolutions  bear- 
ing on  the  subject.  They  also  addressed  a 
letter  "  to  the  Members  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church  in  the  United  States,"  show- 
ing the  importance  and  necessity  of  establish- 
ing such  .  an  institution.  It  was  signed  by 
Bishops  White,  Hobart,  and  Croes ;  also  by 
Dr.  Wharton  and  Mr.  Meredith.  The  Rev. 
Dr.  Harris,  then  President  of  Columbia  Col- 
lege, and  the  Hon.  Mr.  Mercer,  of  Virginia, 
"  members  of  the  Committee  unavoidably  pre- 
vented from  attendance,"  expressed  their  ap- 
probation of  the  address. 

The  next  meeting  of  the  Committee  was 
held  in  the  same  city  on  the  seventh  and 
eighth  of  October,  in  the  same  year,  the  same 
gentlemen  also  being  present  as  before.  Eight 
resolutions  were  then  passed,  "  the  first  being 


78  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

proposed  by  Bishop  White,  and  the  others  by 
Bishop  Hobart."  The  first  resolution  relates 
to  the  establishment  of  professorships ;  name- 
ly, one  of  "  Biblical  Learning,"  another  of 
"  Systematic  Theology,"  a  third  of  "  Historic 
Theology,  embracing  a  view  of  the  Constitu- 
tion of  the  Christian  Church,  of  the  Orders  of 
the  Ministry,  and  of  the  Nature  and  Duty  of 
Christian  Unity."  The  only  other  professor- 
ship was  that  of  "  the  Ritual  of  the  Church  and 
of  Pulpit  Eloquence,"  comprehending  "  the  du- 
ties of  the  Clerical  Office."  The  arrangement 
was  very  judicious,  and  quite  worthy  of  its 
author. 

Of  the  other  resolutions,  the  fifth  was  cer- 
tainly objectionable.  It  required  the  profes- 
sors to  "  conduct  the  students  through  all  the 
books  prescribed  in  the  course  of  study  set 
forth  by  the  House  of  Bishops,  making  them 
thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  subjects  of 
which  those  books  respectively  treat."  Every 
one  who  knows  what  that  course  is,  knows 
also  the  impossibility  of  complying  with  such 
a  requisition.  The  limited  period  even  of 
three  years,  (and  at  that  time  the  term  of 
candidateship  did  not  exceed  one,)  would  not 
allow  half  the  time  necessary  to  study  the 
books  referred  to.     I  need  not  hesitate  to  say 


EEV.   DB.   TUENEE.  79 

that,  at  present,  no  one  recommends  such  a 
course,  and  no  candidate  thinks  of  attempting 
such  an  enterprise.  The  author  of  the  resolu- 
tion could  not  have  properly  considered  what 
an  immense  task  it  imposed. 

Among  these  resolutions  was  also  the  follow- 
ing :  "  That,  when  the  funds  of  the  Institution 
admit,  the  Rev.  Charles  H.  Wharton,  D.D.,  "be 
appointed  Professor  of  Systematic  Theology, 
and  that  the  Rev.  Samuel  F.  Jar  vis  be  now 
appointed  Professor  of  Biblical  Learning,  and 
the  Rev.  Samuel  H.  Turner  Professor  of  His- 
toric Theology  ;  and  that  these  two  last-named 
Professors  receive  for  the  present,  and  until 
they  can  be  detached  from  parochial  cares  and 
devoted  solely  to  the  objects  of  the  Institution, 
a  salary  of  eight  hundred  dollars  per  annum. 
That,  until  the  other  Professorship  be  filled,  and 
the  Professor  of  Systematic  Theology  enter  on 
the  duties  of  his  office,  the  subject  of  System- 
atic Theology  be  assigned  to  the  Professor  of 
Historic  Theology,  and  that  the  Professors  of 
Biblical  Learning  and  of  Historic  Theology 
provide,  by  joint  arrangement,  for  the  object 
assigned  to  the  Professor  of  the  Ritual  of  the 
Church  and  of  Pulpit  Eloquence."  Inasmuch 
as  the  Committee  had  been  constituted  bv  the 
General  Convention  with  power  "  to  carry  the 


80  AUTOBIOGRAPHY   OF 

plan  into  immediate  operation,  if  approved  by 
a  majority  of  the  Bishops,"  I  may  date  my 
appointment  as  Professor  in  the  General  Theo- 
logical Seminary  from  the  eighth  of  October, 
1818* 

When  the  resolutions  just  stated  were  an- 
nounced to  me  by  my  friend,  the  Rev.  Jackson 
Kemper,  now  Bishop,  I  shrank  at  the  idea  of 
assuming  such  a  responsibility.  The  depart- 
ment of  Historic  Theology  alone  appeared 
more  than  enough  for  a  person  of  my  compara- 
tive youth  and  inexperience  as  an  instructor, 
and  I  freely  expressed  to  him  my  reluctance  to 
undertake  the  additional  duties  involved  in  the 
resolutions.  Mr.  Jarvis  also  felt  that  it  would 
be  difficult,  not  to  say  impracticable,  to  perform 
the  various  duties  of  a  parish  a  few  miles  from 
the  city,  in  addition  to  those  of  so  important  a 
Professorship.  These  views  he  expressed  to 
Bishop  Hobart,  who  replied  that  measures  must 
be  taken  to  release  him  at  once  from  parochial 

*  The  importance  and  usefulness  of  a ,  school  for  the  regular  train- 
ing and  instruction  of  candidates  for  the  ministry  impressed  themselves 
strongly  on  my  mind  before  I  was  ordained.  I  distinctly  recollect  that, 
when  I  was  a  student,  as  early  as  1810,  I  heard  a  sermon  preached  in 
St.  Paul's  Church  by  the  Rev.  Richard  Channing  Moore,  afterwards 
Bishop  of  Virginia,  which  brought  the  subject  very  vividly  before  my 
mind,  and  made  me  think  what  a  blessing  it  would  be  to  have  any  di- 
rect agency  in  carrying  such  au  object  into  effect.  The  point  of  asso- 
ciation in  the  sermon  which  suggested  the  thought  I  do  not  remember. 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  81 

cares.  Whether  it  was  these  difficulties  or  cer- 
tain others  which  the  Committee  refer  to,  where- 
by they  were  induced  to  alter  their  arrange- 
ments, I  do  not  positively  know.  In  the  report 
to  the  Convention  they  remark  as  follows : 

"  The  plan  contemplated  in  the  above  resolu- 
tions not  succeeding;,  another  meeting  of  the 
Committee  was  held  in  the  city  of- Philadelphia 
on  the  seventh  of  February,  1819,  the  same 
persons  being  present  as  at  the  previous  meet- 
ing." On  this  occasion  Mr.  (now  Dr.)  Clement 
C.  Moore's  offer  of  sixty  lots  on  condition  of 
having  erected  thereon  "  the  buildings  of  the 
Theological  School,"  was  made  and  accepted. 
The  Committee  then  "  assigned  to  the  Professor 
of  Biblical  Learning  the  subjects  of  Systematic 
Divinity,  and  of  the  Ritual  of  the  Church  and 
Pulpit  Eloquence."  They  jmssed  also  this  reso- 
lution :  "  That,  in  consideration  of  the  more  ex- 
tensive sphere  of  duty  assigned  to  the  Profes- 
sor of  Biblical  Learning,  and  of  his  situation  as 
having  a  family,  his  salary  be  fixed  at  two 
thousand  ^.ve  hundred  dollars  per  annum,  with 
a  house  as  soon  as  one  can  be  erected ;  and,  in 
the  mean  time,  with  an  allowance  of  five  hun- 
dred dollars  per  annum  in  lieu  of  a  •  house,  in 
the  expectation  of  his  applying  himself  solely 

to  the  discharge  of  the  duties  of  his  station; 
4* 


82  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

and  that,  the  same  considerations  not  applying 
to  the  Professor  of  Historic  Theology,  his  sal- 
ary he  fixed  at  a  thousand  dollars  per  annum, 
in  the  hope  that  the  funds  of  the  Institution 
will  speedily  admit  of  a  more  adequate  remu- 
neration." Thus  I  became  relieved  from  the 
accumulation  of  responsibility  and  duty  before 
referred  to,  and  which  I  was  reluctant  to  un- 
dertake. It  was  imposed  on  my  colleague  with 
a  salary  sufficiently  ample  to  compensate  for 
any  additional  labor  to  which  he  might  be 
subjected. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Convention  of  South- 
Carolina  in  1819,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Gadsden,  after 
wards  Bishop  of  the  Diocese,  made,  on  the 
nineteenth  of  February,  "a  statement  for  the 
Theological  Seminary,"  which  was  published 
by  order  of  the  Convention.  This  able  and 
interesting  address  shows  the  great  importance 
of  theological  knowledge  among  the  clergy,  and 
urges,  with  the  author's  characteristic  zeal  ana 
eloquence,  the  duty  of  the  Episcopal  Church 
to  take  measures  for  increasing  and  educating 
its  future  ministry.  Among  other  things,  he 
makes  this  statement,  which  ought  ever  to  be 
held  in  view :  "  The  honor  of  originating  the 
measure  for  the  proposed  Seminary  belongs  to 
this  diocese.    It  was  introduced  by  our  delegates 


EEV.   DE.  TUENEE.  83 

to  the  General  Convention  in  1814,  and  by  that 
body  referred  to  the  consideration  of  the  re- 
spective dioceses.  It  was  renewed  by  our  dele- 
gates in  the  Convention  of  1817,  and  was  then 
unanimously  adopted.  We  are  pledged  not  to 
permit  this  Institution  to  die  in  its  birth,  and 
to  foster  it  with  unceasing  care  and  liberality. 
May  I  not  be  permitted  to  add  that  our  per- 
severance is  due  to  the  memory  of  our  late 
Bishop  [Dr.  Dehon]  ?  In  this  cause  he  labored 
unto  death.  The  resolutions  adopted  by  the 
General  Convention  were  from  his  pen."  The 
resolutions  in  favor  of  the  Seminary  which  im- 
mediately followed  the  address  were  unani- 
mously adopted,  and  the  Church  in  South- 
Carolina  responded  to  the  call  of  her  devoted 
minister,  and  contributed  nobly  to  the  support 
of  the  great  object  which. had  occupied  his 
mind,  filled  his  heart,  and  inspired  him  with 
energy  and  eloquence.* 

Early  in  the  spring  of  1819,  Dr.  Jarvis  and 


*  The  Bishop  of  Oxford,  in  his  History  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church  in  America,  affirms  that  "it  was  mainly  to  Bishop  Hobart  that 
this  Institution,  so  full  of  promise  for  America,  owed  its  origin."  But 
this  statement  is  not  sustained  by  satisfactory  evidence.  Dr.  Wilber- 
force's  acquaintance  with  the  history  of  the  Seminary  seems  very  im- 
perfect, and  his  account  to  have  been  drawn  from  very  limited  sources. 
He  does  not  even  mention  the  name  of  Bishop  Dehon.  See  Stanford 
and  Swords1  Edition,  1849,  chap,  xi  p.  263. 


84  autobiogkaphy  of 

I  entered  upon  our  duties.  Nothing  was  done 
to  brin^  the  Institution  before  the  Church.  No 
publication  was  made  of  its  opening,  and  no 
inaugural  address  delivered,  or  public  religious 
service  of  any  sort  performed.  Those  who 
might  have  been  expected  to  make  arrange- 
ments of  this  sort  relied,  perhaps,  upon  the 
New-York  authorities,  who  remained  ineffect- 
ive. The  number  of  students  was  limited  to 
six,  constituting  one  class.  Their  names  are  as 
follows :  Lawson  Carter,  James  P.  F.  Clarke, 
George  Washington  Doane,  Benjamin  Dorr, 
Manton  Eastburn,  and  William  Hinckley 
Mitchell.  With  the  exception  of  the  last,, 
who  died  in  the  spring  of  1836,  in  South-Caro- 
lina, where  he  exercised  his  ministry,  all  are 
still  living,  and  some  have  become  distinguish- 
ed in  the  Church.  I  began  my  course  of  in- 
struction in  Ecclesiastical  History  with  the 
Old  Testament,  using  the  English  Bible,  and 
illustrating  from  various  authorities.  Pri- 
deaux's  Connection  was  soon  adopted  as  a  text- 
book. In  the  history  of  the  Christian  Church 
we  made  use  of  Mosheim.  I  endeavored  to 
supply  the  deficiencies  of  this  manual,  and  to 
correct  certain  of  its  erroneous  views,  especial- 
ly on  the  subject  of  the  government  of  the 
early  Church,  by  introducing  additional  mat- 


EEV.   DR.   TURNER.  85 

ters  from  other  sources,  and  especially  the  early- 
Church  writers  themselves.  I  made  consider- 
able use  also  of  his  Commentarii  de  rebus 
Christianorum  ante  Constantinum  Magnum, 
and  Dissertationes  ad  Ecclesiasticam  Historiam 
pertinentes.  The  arrangement  of  his  work  I 
altered,  so  as  to  give  the  student  a  consecutive 
view  of  the  facts  narrated,  and  -  of  the  doc- 
trines, heresies,  usages,  and  discipline  devel- 
oped in  the  progress  of  the  history.  During 
the  preceding  winter  I  had  become  very  well 
acquainted  with  Prideaux  and  Mosheim,  having 
made  a  complete  abstract  of  both,  with  matter 
selected  from  other  authors.  My  familiarity 
with  these  text-books  made  the  use  of  a  vol- 
ume in  examining  a  student  almost  unneces- 
sary. 


86  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 


CHAPTER    V. 

Indifference  of  Bishop  Hobart  and  leading  New- York  Clergymen 
to  the  Seminary — Proof  of  Want  of  Interest — Difficulties  with 
Professor  Jarvis — Professor  Turner's  Views  on  certain  points 
of  Theology  not  in  Harmony  with  those  of  Bishop  Hobart — 
The  Seminary  removed  to  New-Haven — Bishop  Brownell's  Re- 
marks in  regard  to  it — The  Seminary  organized  on  a  New 
Plan — Open  to  Students  of  all  Religious  Denominations — Inci- 
dents of  the  Summer's  Vacation — Introductory  Discourse  at 
New-Haven — Varied  and  Pleasant  Duties  in  the  Seminary — 
Its  Patron's  and  Friends — His  Father's  Death — Sketch  of  his 
Life. 

The  General  Theological  Seminary,  as  orig- 
inally established,  did  not  nourish  in  New- 
York.  It  is  certain  that  the  leading  men  in 
the  Chnrch  there,  did  not  take  much  interest  in 
it.*  For  causes  which  can  only  be  ascertained 
from  data  well  known  to  persons  concerned, 
Bishop  Hobart  treated  it  with  comparative  in- 
difference ;  and  it  is  not  to  be  questioned  that, 

*  Even  after  residing  in  the  city  some  time,  as  professor,  I  was 
asked  by  Episcopalians  of  station  and  character,  who  supposed  that  I 
was  on  a  visit  there,  how  long  I  intended  to  remain ! 


EEV.   DR.   TURNER.  87 

with  the  great  proportion  of  Churchmen  in  his 
diocese,  his  word  and  practice  were  equivalent 
to  law.  The  place  assigned  to  the  Professors 
for  meeting  the  students  was  a  small  room, 
immediately  beyond  the  corner  of  the  north 
gallery  in  St.  Paul's  Church.  Here  we  attend- 
ed them  daily,  both  before  the  summer  vaca- 
tion, and  also  after  it,  until  the "  approach  of 
cold  weather  compelled  us  to  seek  a  situation 
where  we  could  enjoy  a  fire,  there  being 
neither  chimney  nor  stove  in  the  room  refer- 
red to.  Accordingly  we  removed  to  St.  John's, 
where,  sometimes  in  the  vestry  -  room,  which 
lay  then  contiguous  to  the  chancel,  at  the 
north-east  corner  of  the  building,  and  some- 
times in  the  adjoining  part  of  the  church 
which  contained  one  of  the  stoves,  we  con- 
tinued our  attendance  on  the  class.  As  the 
church  was  frequently  opened  for  prayers,  and 
was  also  in  a  retired  part  of  the  city,  it  seemed 
to  be  the  most  suitable  place  which  could  be 
selected.  After  some  time,  however,  we  learn- 
ed that  objections  had  been  made  to  its  being 
used  for  this  purpose ;  and  on  one  occasion, 
finding  the  doors  locked,  and  not  being  able 
to  enter  the  church,  we  were  told  by  the  sex- 
ton, Mr.  Wunenberg,  a  German,  that  we  could 
not  be  allowed  to  continue  there,  unless  Dr. 


88  AUTOBIOGEAPHY  OF 

Jarvis  and  myself  would  supply  the  fuel. 
Who  authorized  the  sexton  to  say  so,  I  do  not 
know,  as  he  gave  us  no  further  information. 
But  it  is  not  probable  that  he  would  have 
presumed  to  make  such  a  communication  with- 
out some  authoritative  direction.  As  we  did 
not  choose  to  comply  with  this  condition,  St. 
John's  Church  was  abandoned.  Mr.  Carter, 
one  of  the  students,  who  at  that  time  was 
principal  of  a  young  ladies'  school,  kept  in  the 
second  story  of  a  house  on  the  north-west  cor- 
ner of  Broadway  and  Cedar  street,  very  kindly 
offered  us  the  use  of  this  room  in  the  after- 
noon. We  gratefully  accepted  the  offer,  and 
there  all  the  exercises  of  the  General  Theo- 
logical Seminary  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church  in  the  United  States  of  America,  were 
held  during  the  latter  months  of  1819  and  the 
earlier  ones  of  1820.  I  well  remember  hearing, 
in  that  room,  Mr.  (afterwards  Bishop)  Doane 
read,  in  Greek,  portions  of  the  Epistles  of  Ig- 
natius. The  volume  used  was  the  edition  of 
Vossius,  owned  by  me,  but  now  the  property 
of  the  Seminary  Library.  During  the  period 
referred  to,  I  do  not  remember  ever  to  have 
been  asked  where  the  exercises  of  the  Semi- 
nary were  conducted.  It  appeared  to  me  that 
scarcely  any  one  either  knew  or  cared.     And 


EEV.   DE.   TUENEE.  89 

nothing  was  ever  said  or  done,  by  those  who 
possessed  the  right  of  giving  directions,  respect- 
ing any  public  opening  of  the  Institution  by 
an  address  or  otherwise,  or  any  examination  of 
the  students  at  the  end  of  a  term. 

I  have  said  that  but  little  interest  was  taken 
in  the  Seminary  during  the  time  of  its  con- 
tinuance in  New- York.  Certain  friends  of  Dr. 
Jarvis  had  for  some  time  been  desirous  of  se- 
curing his  ministerial  services  in  Boston.  It 
was  a  remarkable  coincidence,  that  "the  same 
mail  which  conveyed  to  him  an  unofficial 
account  of  his  appointment "  to  a  professor- 
ship, with  a  salary  of  eight  hundred  dollars, 
brought  also  the  intelligence  that  the  vestry 
of  Trinity  Church,  Boston,  were  about  to 
appoint  him  assistant  minister  of  that  church. 
And  soon  after  he  had  official  itotice  of  his 
appointment  as  professor,  he  "received  also  a 
copy  of  the  vote  of  the  vestry,  together  with  a 
unanimous  vote  of  the  congregation,  a]3proving 
of  their  proceedings."  Thus  the  offer  of  the 
two  positions  was  contemporaneous.  At  first 
the  Doctor  felt  strongly  inclined  to  accept  that 
of  Trinity  Parish  in  preference  to  the  profes- 
sorship, but  when  the  arrangement  was  made 
which  enabled  him  to  dissolve  his  connection 
with  his  church  in  Bloomingdale,  and  devote 


90  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

himself  exclusively  to  the  duties  of  his  profes- 
sorship, he  decided  in  favor  of  the  latter  posi- 
tion, and  accepted  it  on  March  sixth,  1819. 
But  within  the  very  short  period  of  two 
months  after  commencing  his  duties,  he  came 
to  the  conclusion  that  no  hopes  were  to  be 
entertained  of  the  success  of  the  Seminary. 
His  friends  in  Boston  had  already  been  making 
efforts  to  raise  money,  in  order  to  build  a 
church,  in  the  hope  that  he  might  be  induced 
to  become  its  rector,  and  early  in  May  he  gave 
a  verbal  promise  to  that  effect,  and  on  the  first 
Monday  in  June  informed  Bishop  Hobart  of 
his  intention. 

By  some  the  Seminary's  want  of  success  was 
attributed  to  the  Doctor's  determination  to  dis- 
solve his  connection  with  it.  Its  abandonment 
by  its  learned  professor  was  said  to  account  for 
the  coldness  shown  to  the  Institution,  and  its 
very  considerable  failure.  Thus  the  responsi- 
bility of  its  low  state  was  thrown  upon  him. 
But  on  the  other  hand,  Dr.  Jarvis  always  main- 
tained that  the  evident  want  of  interest  in  the 
Seminary  determined  him  to  consider  favora- 
bly the  proposition  to  remove  to  Boston,  and 
finally  induced  him  to  accept  the  offer  of  a 
church  there.  He  saw  no  probability  of  the 
Institution  rising  to  any  distinction,   and  felt 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  91 

himself  authorized  to  accept  what  he  regarded 
as  a  more  useful  and  eligible  position. 

It  is  not  necessary,  neither  would  it  be  expe- 
dient for  me,  to  enter  into  any  details  respect- 
ing the  difficulties  which  grew  out  of  this  mat- 
ter. It  is  enough  to  say,  that  the  Board  of 
Directors  thought  it  right  to  reduce  Dr.  Jar- 
vis's  salary  to  the  rate  of  two  thousand  dol- 
lars a  year  for  the  time  already  spent  in  con- 
nection with  the  Seminary.  They  even  ac- 
corded to  him  their  permission  to  leave  it  as 
soon  as  he  might  think  proper.  The  Doctor, 
however,  continued  to  maintain  his  position, 
and  also  his  claim  to  the  stipulated  three  thou- 
sand dollars.  He  prepared  a  particular  and 
detailed  statement  of  the  whole  matter,  to  be 
laid,  if  necessary,  before  the  Committee  on  the 
Theological  Seminary,  appointed  by  the  Gen- 
eral Convention  which  was  held  in  May,  1820, 
in  Philadelphia.  Although  he  was  not  a  mem- 
ber of  that  Convention,  he  was  present  at 
its  meetings.  Still  he  withheld  the  paper  for 
reasons  which  I  am  not  able  to  state.* 

Eventually  Dr.  Jarvis  obtained  the   entire 

*  Some  particulars  above  mentioned  I  have  drawn  from  that  docu- 
ment, for  the  use  of  which  I  am  indebted  to  the  author's  son,  the  Rev. 
S.  F.  Jarvis,  of  Thomsonvillo,  Connecticut,  who  courteously  granted  mc 
the  loan  of  it.  I  shall  have  occasion  to  resort  to  it  again ;  and,  as  be- 
fore, shall  occasionally  introduce  the  very  words  of  the  statement. 


92  AUTOBIOGKAPHY  OF 

sum.  The  Trustees,  who  met  at  New-Haven 
in  September,  after  the  removal  of  the  Semi- 
nary to  that  city,  passed  a  resolution  recogniz- 
ing his  right  to  the  whole  amount.  They  had 
been  told  however  at  the  same  time,  that 
nothing  more  than  such  a  recognition  by  that 
body  was  desired ;  and  that  the  one  thousand 
dollars  which  remained  unpaid  would  not  be 
demanded.  The  Rev.  Jackson  Kemper,  who 
was  present  on  that  occasion,  and  stood  alone 
in  opposing  the  measure,  told  me  that  such  a 
statement  had  been  made  to  the  Board  by  one 
of  the  Doctor's  Boston  friends.  Whether  such 
promise  was  made  by  authority  I  do  not  know ; 
but  this  I  do  know,  that  Mr.  Charles  Dennison, 
the  treasurer,  informed  me  that,  before  leaving 
New-Haven,  Dr.  Jarvis  applied  to  him  for  the 
money,  and  that  he  paid  it.  I  have  repeatedly 
heard  that  the  Doctor  applied  the  money  to 
the  support  of  a  young  man  who  afterwards 
became  a  student  of  divinity. 

It  always  appeared  to  me  that  the  want  of 
interest  in  the  Seminary,  while  originally  in 
New- York,  was  not  owing  to  Dr.  Jarvis's  ar- 
rangements to  leave  it.  He  uniformly  main- 
tained that,  on  the  contrary,  this  determination 
of  his  resulted  from  the  previously  manifested 
indifference.      His   mind,    which   before   vacil- 


REV.   DR.  TURNER.  93 

lated  between  the  two  offers,  and  was  only  in- 
duced to  accept  the  professorship  in  conse- 
quence of  the  change  of  terms  and  conditions 
from  those  of  the  original  arrangement,  became 
decided  in  favor  of  its  first  impression,  and 
thus  he  resolved  to  leave  the  Seminary.  Still 
I  can  not  but  say  that  his  determination  was 
too  hastily  formed.  He  accepted  the  professor- 
ship on  the  sixth  of  March.  On  the  twelfth 
of  the  same  month  a  subscription-paper  was 
prepared  in  Boston,  with  the  view  of  raising 
the  necessary  funds  to  build  him  a  church ; 
and  of  this  he  was  informed  on  the  twenty- 
fourth.  In  "the  latter  part  of  April,  or  be- 
ginning of  May,  Mr.  Sullivan  came  to  New- 
York,1'  and  before  he  left,  "  on  the  sixth  of 
May,"  Dr.  Jarvis  had  "  given  him  the  assur- 
ance that  he  would  accept  the  rectorship  of 
the  church  when  it  should  be  duly  offered.1' 
Thus  it  appears  that,  at  so  early  a  period,  he 
had  made  up  his  mind  that  the  Institution 
would  not  succeed;  and  this  could  not  have 
been  more  than  six  weeks  after  its  opening. 
It  may  well  be  doubted  whether  he  had  al- 
lowed time  enough  to  enable  him  to  form  such 
a  conclusion ;  and  whether,  after  accepting  a 
position  with  a  salary  of  three  thousand  dol- 
lars a  year,  which  had  been  offered  with  the 


94  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

express  view  of  removing  objections  that  he 
had  made  to  the  previous  arrangement,  it  was 
right  and  proper,  in  so  short  a  time,  to  deter- 
mine on  relinquishing  it.  Still  I  am  confident 
that  delay  would  have  made  no  change  with 
respect  to  efforts  for  the  permanent  establish- 
ment and  growth  of  the  Seminary.  I  do  not 
think  that  Bishop  Hobart  was  sufficiently  sat- 
isfied' with  either  him  or  myself  to  feel  much 
inclination  to  encourage  the  Institution,  while 
we  were  its  only  professors.  The  Bishop  was 
desirous  of  establishing  two  courses  of  study — 
an  imperfect  one  of  a  year,  and  another  more 
complete  and  extending  to  the  term  of  three 
years.  Neither  of  us  had  any  sympathy  with 
his  wishes  in  this  respect.  Dr.  Jarvis  had  for 
several  years  been  regarded  as  a  superior  bibli- 
cal scholar,  and  he  directed  the  attention  of 
the  students  to  the  Hebrew  and  Greek  Scrip- 
tures. The  Bishop  was  not  much  versed  in 
that  kind  of  learning,  and  had  no  great  respect 
for  it.  I  recollect  on  one  occasion,  when  I 
dined  at  his  house,  in  company  with  all  the 
students,  soon  after  the  reorganization  of  the 
Seminary  in  New- York,  referring  to  the  author- 
ity of  Bishop  Marsh  of  Peterborough,  the  trans- 
lator of  Michaelis's  Introduction,  the  Bishop  set 
aside  his  Bight  Bev.  Lordship's  authority  with 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  95 

the  remark  :  "  Oil !  he 's  nothing  but  a  biblical 
critic  !"  The  acquirements  of  Dr.  Jar  vis  in 
this  department  did  not  raise  him  very  high  in 
Bishop  Hobart's  estimation. 

My  own  views  on  certain  points  of  theology 
were  not  in  harmony  with  those  of  the  Bishop. 
I  was  also  accustomed  to  express  myself  with 
a  good  degree  of  honest  freedom-;  and  some- 
times, no  doubt,  I  was  not  sufficiently  discreet 
or  accurate.  On  the  subject  of  regeneration 
I  had  frequent  conversations  with  him.  I  never 
could  acquiesce  in  his  opinion  on  this  subject. 
He  limited  the  idea  of  regeneration  to  the 
merely  outward  change  of  a  visib]e  covenant 
relation  with  God,  effected  through  water  bap- 
tism. He  has  been  grossly  misunderstood,  I 
may  sayf  indeed,  misrepresented,  as  if  he  did 
not  admit  the  necessity  of  an  internal  change. 
He  certainly  did  avow  it  in  the  plainest  possi- 
ble language,  although  he  expressed  this  by 
other  words,  limiting  the  ap23lication  of  the 
term  regeneration  as  I  have  just  stated.  On 
the  subject  of  Episcopacy  too,  while  I  agreed 
with  him  in  the  fundamental  principle  of  its 
being  a  divine  institution,  I  could  not  affirm  its 
necessity  to  the  very  being  of  a  Church.  My 
views  on  this  point  were  expressed  in  the  in- 
troductory discourse  delivered  at  the  opening 


96  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

of  the  Seminary,  on  its  subsequent  removal  to 
New-Haven.  I  will  here  quote  the  passage, 
which,  I  learned,  was  satisfactory  to  the  Church- 
men of  Connecticut :  "  The  form  of  govern- 
ment which  Jesus  Christ  or  His  Apostles  may 
have  settled  for  His  body,  the  Church,  and  the 
character  and  grade  of  those  officers  that  were 
appointed  for  the  purpose  of  administering  the 
word  and  sacraments,  which  are  the  ordinary 
channels  of  divine  grace,  can  not  be  uninterest- 
ing subjects  to  the  Christian  inquirer.  But  it 
must  be  acknowledged  that,  in  the  present 
day,  they  do  not  receive  that  share  of  atten- 
tion which  their  importance  merits.  The  stu- 
dent of  divinity  must  give  them  a  fair  investi- 
gation. When  this  is  done,  I  do  not  hesitate  to 
express  the  opinion  that  the  result  will  be  a  firm 
conviction  of  the  apostolic  and  divine  origin 
of  those  orders  of  bishops,  priests,  and  deacons 
which  the  Preface  to  our  Ordination  Service 
declares  to  have  been  in  Christ's  Church  from 
the  Apostles'  time;  asserting  also  that  this 
1  is  evident  to  all  men,  diligently  reading  holy 
Scripture  and  ancient  authors.'  The  establish- 
ment of  these  orders  by  the  Apostles,  and  the 
influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  their  establish- 
ment, are  facts  which  we  think  very  suscepti- 
ble of  proof.     With  regard  to  the  consequences 


REV.    DR.   TURNER.  97 

that  may  "be  conceived  to  be  the  legitimate 
conclusions  deducible  from  those  facts,  asree- 
ment  in  opinion  among  Churchmen  ought  not 
to  be  demanded,  and  can  not  reasonably  be  ex- 
pected."    (Pages  29,  30.) 

I  had  formed  these  opinions  as  the  result  of 
a  somewhat  extensive  course  of  reading  on  the 
subject  while  under  the  direction  of  Bishop 
White,  and  I  have  not  yet  seen  reason  to  alter 
them.  Bishop  Hobart,  like  all  Churchmen  of 
similar  views  with  whom  I  have  ever  happen- 
ed to  converse  on  the  subject,  assumed  that,  if 
Episcoj)acy  was  of  divine  origin,  it  must  neces- 
sarily be  permanent ;  whereas  this  is  the  very 
point  to  be  proved.  The  same  principle,  ap- 
plied to  the  doctrine  of  ecclesiastical  parity, 
was  assumed  by  Cartwright  "and  other  Puri- 
tans, and  is  examined  and  refuted  by  Hooker.* 
At  one  time,  in  arguing  with  the  Bishop,  I  re- 
ferred to  Bishop  White,  and  also  to  Hooker. 
In  reply,  he  alluded  to  the  pamphlet  which  the 
Bishop  published  in  August,  1782,  entitled, 
"  The  Case  of  the  Episcopal  Churches  Consid- 
ered.'^ Here  he  advocates  the  appointment 
of  some  presbyters  as  superintendents,  with  the 

*  Book  iii.  sec.  10,  vol.  i.  p.  394,  et  seq.     Oxford  edition  of  1793. 
f  Some   notice   of  this   publication  may  be   seen  in  Dr.  Wilson's 
Memoir  of  the  Life  of  Bishop  White,  p.  81,  et  seq. 


98  AUTOBIOGKAPHY  OF 

power  of  ordination ;  such  authority,  however, 
to  last  no  longer  than  the  existing  emergency 
which,  he  maiD tains,  made  it  then  necessary. 
Bishop  Hobart's  language  to  me  was  in  these 
very  words,  "  He  wanted  to  make  Presbyteri- 
ans of  us  all ;"  to  which  he  added :  "  Bishop 
White's  inconsistency  —  and  Hooker's  incon- 
sistency, too,  if  you  will."  I  did  not  believe, 
and  never  have  believed,  that  either  of 
these  distinguished  men  was  chargeable  with 
inconsistency  on  the  point  in  question.  My 
only  motive  in  mentioning  these  circumstances 
is  to  show  how  inrprobable  it  is  that  Bishop 
Hobart  could  regard  with  much  interest  and 
satisfaction  a  Seminary  under  the  instruction 
of  two  professors,  between  whose  theologi- 
cal preferences  and  views  and  his  own,  there 
was  such  discrepancy.  Surely  if  he  had  so 
regarded  it,  he  would  not  have  remained  so 
inactive.  As  Dr.  Jar  vis  remarks  in  the  docu- 
ment before  referred  to :  "  This  able  and  enter- 
prising prelate  was  never  known  to  pursue  a 
favorite  object  with  an  unsteady  gaze  or  an 
erring  aim." 

The  General  Convention  of  May,  1820,  pass- 
ed a  resolution  to  remove  the  Seminary  to 
New-Haven.  On  the  fourteenth  of  July,  Bish- 
op Brownell,  President  pro  tern.,  published,  by 


REV.    DR.    TURNER.  99 

order  of  tlie  Board  of  Trustees,  a  plan,  preced- 
ed by  an  address,  and  followed  by  resolutions. 
The  address  gives  a  very  brief  statement  of 
the  original  establishment  of  the  Institution. 
It  then  goes  on  to  remark  that :  "  Either  from 
some  defect  in  the  plan,  or  from  objections  to 
the  location,  or  from  some  other  causes,  the 
Seminary  languished  in  New- York,  and  it  was 
determined  by  the  General  Convention  to  re- 
move it  to  New-Haven,  and  to  reorganize  it 
on  a  different  plan."  From  the  plan  which  fol- 
lows the  address,  I  transcribe  the  second  and 
third  sections  of  the  fourth  article,  which,  for 
a  considerable  time,  had  the  force  of  law,  and, 
as  I  well  know,  were  carried  into  operation. 
Subsequently  they  were  rescinded  :    "  Section 

II.  The  Seminary  shall  be  equally  accessible  to 
students  of  all  religious  denominations,  exhib- 
iting suitable  testimonials  of  character  and 
qualifications.  But  no  one,  while  a  member  of 
the  Institution,  shall  be  permitted  to  promul- 
gate opinions  tending  to  disturb  the  harmony 
of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church.     Section 

III.  Every  student,  during  his  first  term  of 
study,  shall  be  considered  as  a  probationer. 
And  if,  at  the  end  of  that  time,  the  professors 
shall  think  him  so  far  deficient  in  industry,  so- 
briety, or  discretion,  as  to  be  unfit  to  proceed 


100  AUTOBIOGEAPHY  OF 

in  his  studies,  they  shall  privately  direct  him  to 
withdraw  himself  from  the  institution." 

The  Seminary  was  to  be  reopened  in  New- 
Haven  on  the  thirteenth  of  September.  I  had 
been  spending  the  summer  at  my  father's  in 
Philadelphia,  where  I  had  devoted  some  time 
to  the  preparation  of  an  introductory  discourse. 
A  few  days  before  the  appointed  time  I  went 
to  Jersey  City,  then  called  Paulus'  Hook.  As 
the  yellow  fever  had  made  its  appearance  in 
some  parts  of  Philadelphia,  intercourse  with 
New- York  had  been  interdicted.  I  therefore 
hired  a  boat  and  was  rowed  from  New-Jersey 
to  the  opposite  shore  north  of  the  city.  I 
landed  near  what  was  then  the  State  Prison. 
Many  years  after  the  building  was  purchased 
by  Mr.  Jacob  Lorillard,  who  endeavored  to 
make  it  a  hospital  for  sick  strangers  who 
might  desire  a  suitable  boarding-place.  He 
went  to  great  expense  in  arranging  the  build- 
ing so  as  to  accommodate  the  inmates  with 
every  convenience,  and  in  beautifying  the 
grounds.  But  the  enterprise  failed.  The 
house  still  stands  in  what  is  now  called  West- 
Tenth  street,  near  Washington,  and  is  at  pres- 
ent known  as  the  Empire  Brewery.  At  the 
time  I  speak  of,  it  was  a  considerable  distance 
out  of  town.     I  found  Mr.  Warner's  carriage 


REV.   DR.    TURNER.  101 

waiting  for  me  on  the  bank,  and  was  conveyed 
to  the  country-seat  of  Mr.  John  Slidell,  a  gen- 
tleman with  whom  I  had  become  acquainted 
during  my  residence  in  the  city.  This  was  a 
very  pleasant  retreat,  with  a  beautiful  lawn 
extending  some  distance  in  front  to  the  Bloom- 
ingdale  road.  Now  all  the  ground  in  that  vicin- 
ity and  far  above  is  thickly  built"  upon.  The 
mansion  still  stands,  and  is  a  large  frame  build- 
ing, situated  on  the  north-west  corner  of  the 
Sixth  avenue  and  Thirtieth  street.  Here  I 
spent  Saturday,  and  after  going  on  Sunday  to 
a  church  in  the  country,  passed  the  night  at 
Camperdown,  on  the  East  River,  the  sum- 
mer residence  of  Mr.  Isaac  Lawrence.  In 
company  with  this  friend  of  myself  and  the 
Seminary,  on  Monday  morning  I  got  on  board 
a  steamer  bound  for  New-Haven,  where  I 
found  the  Rev.  Jonathan  M.  Wainwright, 
John  Pintard,  Esq.,  and  several  other  .gen- 
tlemen who  had  showed  great  interest  in  the 
Seminary.  About  sundown  we  arrived  at 
New-Haven,  and  the  next  day  I  delivered 
in  Trinity  Church  the  introductory  discourse, 
which  was  published  at  the  request  of  the 
Trustees. 

After  a  brief  allusion  to  my  feelings  on  the 
occasion,  I  proceeded  to  show  the  necessity  of 


102  AUTOBIOGEAPHY  OF 

an  able  and  well-instructed  ministry  to  the 
prosperity  of  the  Church.  Under  the  general 
head  of  ability  were  comprehended  piety  and 
learning ;  and  under  the  latter  point,  the  ne- 
cessity of  a  critical  and  extensive  acquaintance 
with  the  Scriptures  in  their  original  languages 
was  especially  insisted  on.  I  then  attempted 
to  show  that  the  establishment  of  theological 
schools  was  the  most  certain  method  of  effect- 
ing this  desirable  object,  and  referred  to  the 
prophetic  establishments  mentioned  in  the  Old 
Testament,  and  to  the  Jewish  and  Christian 
schools  of  later  periods.  A  brief  view  of  the 
course  of  studies  intended  to  be  pursued  was 
then  presented,  the  Scriptures  and  Ecclesias- 
tical History  being  regarded  as  comprehending 
the  most  important  topics.  The  discourse  closed 
with  a  short  notice  of  the  subject  of  church 
government,  part  of  which  has  already  been 
transcribed. 

Thus  the  General  Theological  Seminary  was 
commenced  in  New-Haven  on  the  thirteenth  of 
September,  1820.  It  opened  with  ten  students, 
to  whom  four  others  were  soon  added.  It  ap- 
pears from  the  names  contained  in  the  report 
of  the  Trustees  made  to  the  Special  General 
Convention  which  was  called  in  1821,  that  the 
whole  number  of  students  had  been  twenty- 


EEV.    DE.   TUENEE.  103 

eidit.  Of  those  one  was  "  not  a  regular  stu- 
dent,  but  engaged  in  teaching  a  school,"  anoth- 
er "  had  leave  of  absence,"  three  had  "  left  on 
account  of  ill-health,"  and  two  had  been  "  ad- 
mitted to  orders."  Of  the  original  twenty- 
eight,  seventeen  are  still  living,  two  of  whom 
are  Bishops,  one  a  Professor  in  the  Seminary, 
and  others  highly  respectable  rectors  of  par- 
ishes. Of  a  large  majority  of  the  students  in 
New-Haven  I  can  truly  say  that,  during  the 
whole  period  of  my  connection  with  the  Insti 
tution,  I  have  never  known  more  attentive 
studious,  thorough,  and  in  every  respect  de 
corous  young  men.  Most  of  them  were  re 
markable  for  their  diligence  and  application 
The  public  examination  which  was  conducted 
in  Trinity  Church  in  July,  1821,  was  to  me 
the  most  satisfactory  I  ever  took  part  in,  and 
I  have  reason  to  think  that  it  made  a  very 
favorable  impression  on  all  who  were  present. 
The  statutes  secured  to  the  students  a  long 
vacation  in  the  winter.  This  arrangement  was 
made  in  order  to  afford  themtan  opportunity, 
if  desired,  of  en^aodng;  during  that  time  in  the 
business  of  instruction.  I  had  therefore  more 
than  three  months  at  my  disposal.  Towards 
the  close  of  the  term  in  1820,  I  heard  one  of 
the    students,  now  the   Rev.   Dr.  Johnson  of 


104  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

Jamaica,  Long  Island,  read  some  Hebrew  ac- 
cording to  the  points.  This  was  the  first  time 
that  I  had  heard  the  language  so  read.  On  my 
return  to  Philadelphia,  where  I  spent  the  vaca- 
tion, I  set  to  work  to  learn  the  forms  of  the 
language,  and  to  read  it  according  to  the  vowel- 
points.  Unfortunately  I  had  no  instructor  to 
keep  me  right,  and  therefore  lost  no  little  time 
in  making  the  effort.     However,  by  repeatedly 

plodding  over  portions  of  Robertson's * 

David  Levi's  Grammar  in  his  Lingua  Sacra, 
and  By  timer's  Lyra  Prophetica,  I  managed  to 
get  some  acquaintance  with  the  Masoretical 
punctuation,  and  to  read  Hebrew  slowly  ac- 
cording to  the  old  method.  On  my  return  to 
New-Haven  in  the  spring,  I  endeavored  to  im- 
part what  little  knowledge  I  had  to  those  stu- 
dents who  were  disposed  to  take  the  trouble  to 
learn. 

During  a  considerable  portion  of  the  time 

*  Note  by  the  Editor. —One  of  the  following  works  is  doubtless 
here  referred  to,  but,  as  we  have  no  means  of  ascertaining  which  title 
ought  to  fill  this  blank  in  the  manuscript,  we  append  them  all. 

Robertson,  J.  Grammatica  Lingua?  Hebra?,  cum  notis.  Svo.  Edin. 
1*758. 

lb.     Clavis  Pentateuchi.     8vo.     Edin.     1770. 

Robertson,  W.  A  Key  to  the  Hebrew  Bible,  by  which  most  of  the 
words  are  unlocked  and  opened  in  an  Alphabetical  Praxis  upon  Psalms 
of  David,  and  Lam.  of  Jeremiah.     Svo.     London     1656. 

lb.  Thesaurus  Lingua?  Sancta?,  seu  Concordiantiale  Lexicon  Hebrceo- 
Latina  Biblicum.     4vo.     London.     16S0. 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  105 

spent  in  New-Haven,  I  met  the  students  every 
Saturday  night  in  the  lecture-room,  for  critical 
and  devotional  purposes  alternately.  On  the 
latter  occasions  I  either  lectured  or  preached 
to  them  ;  and  on  the  former,  one  of  them  read 
a  critical  essay,  which  was  the  subject  of  re- 
mark by  any  who  might  choose  to  speak  in  re- 
lation to  its  matter  or  manner,  and  also  by  the 
professor.  One  of  the  critical  essays  was  in 
Latin,  but  I  am  not  aware  that  it  elicited  any 
especial  comment.  We  lived  together  in  great 
harmony,  and  my  feelings  were  like  those  of 
an  elder  brother  helping  the  younger  members 
of  the  family.  Bishop  Brownell  attended  to 
the  delivery  of  sermons,  and  to  the  department 
of  Pastoral  Theology,  and  met  the  class  once  a 
week.  During  my  continuance  in  his  Diocese 
he  was  uniformly  kind,  hospitable,  and  friend- 
ly ;  and  the  residence  of  his  family  in  New- 
Haven  contributed  very  much  to  my  satisfac- 
tion and  enjoyment.  In  the  summer  season  I 
frequently  visited  some  neighboring  vacant 
parish  and  officiated ;  but  generally  I  attended 
Trinity  Church,  of  which  Dr.  Harry  Croswell 
was  rector.  In  the  winter  the  building  was 
excessively  cold,  as  the  practice  of  warming 
places  of  worship  had  not  then  been  introduced 
in  Connecticut. 
5* 


106  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

The  Seminary  in  New-Haven  was  patronized 
by  many  of  the  leading  Churchmen,  especially 
in  South-Carolina  and  New- York  City.  From 
those  of  the  latter  place  particularly,  it  received 
extensive  presents  in  books;  and  the  name  of 
John  Pintard  must  ever  be  most  prominent, 
for  the  liberality  of  his  donations,  and  the 
great  number,  value,  and  rarity  of  the  works 
which  adorn  its  library.  Among  them  I  may 
mention,  as  specimens,  the  Bibles  of  Kennicott, 
Houbigant,  Mont  anus,  and  Castalio ;  the  Vul- 
gate of  Sixtus  V. ;  and  the  Paris  and  Complu- 
tensian  Polyglots.  The  last  of  these  is  a  beau- 
tiful and  well-preserved  copy,  in  six  volumes, 
which  he  saw  announced  in  a  London  cata- 
logue, and  for  which  he  paid  three  hundred 
dollars.  The  General  Theological  Seminary 
never  had  a  truer  friend  than  this  really 
Christian  Churchman,  whose  religious  character 
was  habitually  kept  warm  and  active  by  his 
expansive  benevolence. 

Towards  the  close  of  July,  my  sister  Eliza, 
who  had  lived  with  me  in  Maryland,  came  to 
New -Haven,  to  make  me  a  visit,  at  the  house 
of  Mrs.  Blagg,  with  whom  I  had  been  boarding, 
and  who  was  an  excellent  old  lady,  the  widow 
of  a  New- York  merchant.  On  Saturday,  the 
day  after  the  examination,  we  were  about  to  go 


EEV.   DE.   TURNEE.  107 

to  Hartford.  I  had  ordered  a  conveyance  im- 
mediately after  an  early  dinner.  While  it  was 
waiting  at  the  door,  the  Southern  mail  came 
in,  and  I  immediately  went  to  the  post-office, 
a  few  yards  off,  to  inquire  for  letters.  I  re- 
ceived one,  informing  me  of  the  illness  of  my 
father.  This  of  course  put  a  stop  to  our  ex- 
cursion. About  six  in  the  evening,  we  left 
New-Haven  in  the  stage,  and,  after  riding  all 
night,  arrived  at  Newr-York  about  eight  in  the 
morning.  There  we  learned  that  my  sister 
and  Mr.  Warner  had  gone  to  Philadelphia,  and 
that  my  father  was  not  expected  to  recover. 
We  took  the  mail-stage  about  two,  and,  after 
spending  another  night  in  travelling,  reached 
home  on  Monday  morning.  Our  father  had 
died  two  days  before,  on  the  twenty-sixth  day 
of  July,  1821.  His  illness  was  short  but  severe. 
He  spoke  to  my  sister  Esther  of  the  time  when 
his  pain,  which  was  caused  by  an  inflammation 
of  the  bowels,  was  most  severe,  as  his  trying 
examination-day;  showing  that  his  thoughts 
w^ere  turned  to  what  at  the  same  time  was 
engaging  my  attention,  and  also  that  he  re- 
garded the  chastisement  as  sent  by  the  Lord, 
as  a  trial  of  his  faith.  He  was  indeed  a  sin- 
cere Christian  man,  full  of  faith  and  good 
works.     His  views  of  religion  wTere  deep  and 


108  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

experimental,  and,  in   the   right  sense  of  the 
word,  decidedly  evangelical. 

My  father  entered  the  ministry  when  about 
fifty  years  of  age.  He  had  not  the  advantage 
of  a  collegiate  education,  and  therefore  all  clas- 
sical examination  was  dispensed  with.  He  was 
recommended  for  holy  orders  by  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Convention  of  June  twenty-first,  1791, 
and  in  the  Journal  of  that  held  in  June  fifth, 
1792,  his  name  appears  as  rector  of  St.  Mar- 
tin's, Marcus  Hook.  He  was  ordained  by  Bish- 
op White,  although  no  report  of  it  by  the  Dio- 
cesan appears  in  either  of  the  Journals.  For 
his  ecclesiastical  head  he  always  entertained 
the  most  profound  respect,  and  his  regard  was 
kindly  reciprocated.  He  and  the  Rev.  Jehu 
Clay  were,  for  many  years,  assistant  ministers 
to  the  Rev.  Nicholas  Collin,  D.D.,  a  Swedish 
Missionary,  who  was  rector  of  a  church  called 
Wicaco,  or  Weccacoe,*  (now  Gloria  Dei,)  in 
Southwark,   Philadelphia;   of   another   named 

*  I  am  informed  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Clay,  the  present  rector,  son  of 
the  gentleman  above  mentioned,  that  "this  was  the  name  at  that  time, 
of  that  particular  locality."  He  supposes  both  it  and  "  Passyunk,  on 
the  Schuylkill,  to  have  been  of  Indian  origin."  He  remarks  also  as 
follows :  "  At  the  time  this  church  was  built,  Dr.  Rudman,  the  first 
rector,  says  there  was  a  dispute  among  the  Swedes  with  regard  to  the 
place  where  it  should  be  erected,  those  living  on  the  Schuylkill  wish- 
ing it  to  be  at  Passyunk,  and  those  in  the  vicinity  at  Wicaco.  This 
seems  to  show  that  this  locality  was  called  by  the  latter  came."     Dr, 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  109 

Kingsessing,  about  six  miles  from  the  city, 
near  the  village  of  Derby;  and  a  third  in  Up- 
per Meriom  Township,  on  the  Schuylkill,  about 
two  miles  from  Norristown.  Dr.  Collin  had  a 
strong  attachment  to  the  Episcopal  Church, 
and  a  high  respect  for  Bishop  White.  He  and 
the  Episcopal  clergy  of  Philadelphia  were 
on  terms  of  intimate  friendship."  Indeed,  at 
the  time  I  speak  of,  any  thing  like  party  feel- 
ing was  unknown.  The  few  city  ministers 
were  fraternal  in  their  feelings  towards  each 
other,  and  filial  in  those  towards  their  eccle- 
siastical father.  However  they  may  have  dif- 
fered on  some  theoretical  points  and  practical 
usages,  I  can  truly  say  that  afterwards,  during 
the  time  of  my  acquaintance  with  them,  I 
never  heard  a  harsh  word  uttered  by  any  one 
against  any  other.  Every  summer,  about  cher- 
ry-time, they  all  met  to  spend  a  friendly  even- 
ing at  my  father's,  and  another  at  Dr.  Collin's. 
On  one  of  these  latter  occasions  I  was  present, 
being  a  student  of  divinity,  and  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Barnwell  Campbell,  who  had  just  arrived  from 
England,  read  to  the  clergy  Dr.  Buchanan's 
celebrated  sermon  entitled,    The  Star  in   the 

Clay  adds  that  "  the  name  Gloria  Dei,  by  which  the  church  is  now 
known,  occurs  occasionally  in  the  early  records,  and  that  this  is  its 
proper  ecclesiastical  title." 


110  AUTOBIOGEAPHY  OF 

East.  He  had  been  introduced  by  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Abercrornbie,  who  had  before  become 
deeply  interested  m  the  discourse.  It  was 
afterwards  printed  in  Philadelphia,  and  its  cir- 
culation produced  a  favorable  impression  in 
behalf  of  the  cause  of  foreign  missions.  Mr. 
Campbell  was  then  quite  a  young  man,  of  very 
agreeable  and  unassuming  manners,  and  of 
strong  religious  feeling.  His  son,  who  is  now 
a  respectable  clergyman  of  Charleston,  S.  C, 
has  much  of  his  father's  character. 

Since  the  death  of  Dr.  Collin,  the  three 
churches  of  which  he  was  rector  have  become 
connected  with  the  Episcopal  Church.  My 
father,  an  assistant  of  Dr.  Collin,  was  also  rec- 
tor of  the  church  at  Marcus  Hook,  a  village 
on  the  Delaware  River,  about  twenty  miles 
south  of  Philadelphia,  where  he  officiated  once 
a  month.  When  a  boy  I  was  in  the  habit  of 
accompanying  him  to  the  country  churches.  I 
also  went  with  him  occasionally  to  Concord, 
Wilmington,  and  other  places  where  he  hap- 
pened to  officiate.  He  died  in  his  seventy- 
ninth  year.  I  may  venture  to  say  that  few 
men  were  more  generally  and  deservedly  es- 
teemed.*    The  crowd  that  attended  his  funeral 

*  I  refer  you  to  an  obituary  notice,  (the  author  of  which,  I  regret 
to  say,  is  not  certainly  known  to  me,)  in  the  Gospel  Advocate,  March, 
1822,  p.  104. 


REV.   DE.   TURNER.  HI 

at  St.  Paul's  Church  was  so  great  that  it  be- 
came necessary  to  keep  the  gate  clear,  in  order 
that  the  procession  might  have  room  to  enter. 
In  his  will,  my  father  appointed  his  only  sur- 
viving son  and  his  two  unmarried  daughters 
executor  and  executrices.  Its  provisions  were 
carried  out  with  that  feeling  which  ought  to 
characterize  near  family  relationship.  On  mak- 
ing such  arrangements  as  were  advisable  from 
the  situation  of  the  property  left  by  him,  it 
became  necessary  to  open  three  streets,  near 
Catherine,  between  Second  and  Fifth.  The 
names  by  which  they  were  designated,  Har- 
mony, Union,  and  Concord,  and  which  they 
still  bear,  were  purposely  chosen,  to  indicate 
the  feeling  referred  to. 


112  AUTOBIOGEAPHY  OP 


CHAPTEE    VI. 

A  Diocesan  Theological  School  established  in  New- York,  at  the 
Instance  of  Bishop  Hobart — Jacob  Sherred's  Legacy — A  Spe- 
cial General  Convention  called  to  consider  it  —  The  Seminary 
restored  to  New- York — United  with  the  Diocesan  School  under 
a  New  Organization — Reorganization  of  the  Seminary  —  First 
Critical  Publication — South-Carolina  Trustees  suggest  a  Semi- 
nary-Building— Bishop  White's  Remarks  on  laying  the  Corner- 
stone— Professor  Turner's  Marriage  —  Progress  and  Character 
of  the  Seminary  Buildings — Study  of  the  French  and  German 
Languages — Revision  of  our  Church  Psalmody  and  Hymns — 
Translation  of  "Jahn's  Introduction,"  with  Notes  —  Birth  of 
his  First  Child  —  Establishment  of  Public  Worship  at  the 
Seminary — Formation  of  a  Sunday-School — St.  Peter's  Church 
grows  out  of  these  Labors — Studies  in  Ancient  and  Modern 
Languages,  and  in  Rabbinical  Writings — Dr.  Nordheimer. 

While  the  school  of  the  prophets  was  pursu- 
ing its  quiet  and  retired  course,  in  New-Haven, 
discussions  were  going  on,  and  conflicting  pub- 
lications issued  elsewhere,  respecting  the  com- 
parative expediency  and  usefulness  of  various 
diocesan  institutions  or  of  a  general  one.  The 
New-York  Convention  of  1820  had,  at  the  in- 
stance of  the  Bishop,  established  a  "  Protestant 
Episcopal  Theological  Education  Society  of  the 
State."  This  Institution  had  gone  into  opera- 
tion before  the  meeting  of  the  Convention  of 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  113 

1821,  as  appears  from  the  Diocesan  Address  to 
the  Clergy  and  Laity  on  that  occasion.  Its 
"principal  school  was  placed  in  the  city  of 
New- York,  and  a  branch  of  it  in  the  village 
of  Geneva,"  each  under  its  respective  profes- 
sors. 

In  March,  1821,  Mr.  Jacob  Sherred,  a  vestry- 
man of  Trinity  Church,  New- York,  died,  and 
left  a  legacy  of  about  sixty  thousand  dollars  to 
a  General  Theological  Seminary  in  New- York, 
or  to  a  diocesan  one  within  the  same  limits.  A* 
suggestion  was  made,  whether  the  establish- 
ment of  a  General  Institution  in  that  diocese 
would  not  secure  a  legal  claim  to  the  legacy. 
The  opinion  of  some  of  the  most  distinguished 
lawyers  was  decidedly  in  favor  of  assigning  it 
to  the  Education  Society.  With  a  view  to 
settle  the  difficulty  a  Special  General  Conven- 
tion was  called,  and  it  was  agreed  by  the  re- 
spective parties  that  the  General  Seminary 
should  be  removed  to  New- York,  and  a  new 
Institution  organized  by  uniting  it  with  the 
local  school  of  that  diocese.  Thus  the  merging 
of  the  two  into  one  was  the  formation  of  the 
present  General  Theological  Seminary. 

Bishop  Hobart,  in  whose  diocese  the  Institu- 
tion was  now  reorganized  and  reestablished, 
veiy   kindly   inquired  what    position   therein 


114  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

would  be  most  acceptable  to  me.  In  accord- 
ance with  what  I  then  stated  to  him  in  reply, 
I  was  soon  after  appointed  Professor  of  Bibli- 
cal Learning  and  Interpretation  of  Scripture. 
For  this  office,  which  I  have  already  held  more 
than  forty  years,  I  very  gratefully  express  my 
obligation  to  the  Right  Rev.  Diocesan,  by 
whose  agency  I  have  been  enabled,  however 
imperfectly,  to  assist  very  many  of  our  clergy 
in  studying  the  oracles  of  God,  and  thus  pre- 
paring them  for  the  exercise  of  the  ministry, 
by  "bringing  out  of  their  treasures  things 
new  and  old." 

In  December,  1821,  the  Trustees  published 
"the  Constitution"  of  the  newly  organized 
Seminary,  with  an  "Address  to  the  Protestant 
Episcopalians  of  the  United  States,"  and  "Res- 
olutions," along  with  a  statement  of  the  Pro- 
fessorships "  in  the  city  of  New- York,"  and  "  in 
the  Branch  School  at  Geneva,"  and  some  other 
matters.  Bishop  Bowen  also,  of  South-Caroli- 
na, appealed  in  behalf  of  the  Seminary,  to  the 
Convention  of  that  diocese,  held  in  1822.  A 
Committee  on  the  subject  reported  in  its  favor; 
and,  by  desire  of  the  Convention,  the  Bishop, 
in  an  address  to  the  members  of  his  Church, 
earnestly  requested  their  cooperation.  The 
subject  was  renewed  in  1823,  when  the  same 


REV.   DR.  TURNER.  115 

interest  was  manifested  by  the  Convention  of 
that  diocese. 

The  Faculty  of  the  newly-established  Semi- 
nary in  New- York  consisted  of  the  Rev.  Bird 
Wilson,  D.D.,  who  had  a  short  time  before 
been  appointed  by  the  Trustees  to  the  Depart- 
ment of  Systematic  Divinity,  and  myself,  of 
the  original  General  Institution";  and  also,  of 
the  Diocesan  School,  Bishop  Hobart,  the  Rev. 
Benjamin  T.  Onderdonk,  Messrs.  Clement  C. 
Moore  and  Gulian  C.  Verplanck.  The  branch 
at  Geneva  was  continued  but  a  short  time. 
The  arrangements  of  the  Professorships  of  this 
school  were  very  strange.  Dr.  McDonald  was 
appointed  "Professor  of  the  Interpretation  of 
Scripture,  Ecclesiastical  History,  and  the  Na- 
ture, Ministry,  and  Polity  of  the  Church,"  and 
"the  Rev.  John  Reed,  Professor  of  Biblical 
Learning T  An  extraordinary  disruption,  tru- 
ly, of  one  department !  From  this  time  the 
salaries  of  Dr.  Wilson  and  myself  were  fifteen 
hundred  dollars  each,  and  of  Mr.  Moore,  seven 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars.  The  services  of  the 
other  gentlemen  were  gratuitous.  Mr.  Ver- 
planck, to  whom  the  Evidences  of  Revealed 
Religion  had  been  assigned,  after  some  time 
published  his  lectures  and  resigned.  Bishop 
Hobart  heard  the    students  read   the   service 


116  AUTOBIOGEAPHY  OF 

and  deliver  sermons  once  a  week,  when  his 
Episcopal  duties  did  not  interfere  with  the 
arrangement.  Mr.  Onderdonk,  being  a  regular 
assistant  minister  of  Trinity  Church,  found  by 
experience  that  he  could  not  devote  the  time 
which  was  necessary  for  suitable  preparation 
in  his  department,  which  related  to  the  Church 
and  to  Ecclesiastical  History.  An  arrange- 
ment was  therefore  made  to  relieve  him,  and 
Dr.  Wilson  and  myself  consented  to  give,  tem- 
porarily, instructions  in  the  latter  department. 
This  arrangement,  which  lasted  a  few  years, 
was  originally  suggested  by  Bishop  Hobart, 
and  made  in  accordance  with  a  resolution 
passed'  by  the  Trustees,  in  reply  to  a  note 
addressed  to  that  body,  July  twenty -third, 
1822,  by  Mr.  Onderdonk,  in  which  he  tendered 
his  "  resignation  of  the  department." 

I  "  consented  to  undertake,  for  a  time,  so 
much  of  ecclesiastical  history  as  comprises 
the  Old  Testament,  and  the  connection  be- 
tween it  and  the  New,  together  with  the  first 
three  centuries  of  the  Christian  Church."  Dr. 
Wilson  took  the  subsequent  period,  that  of 
the  Reformation  being  most  particularly  at- 
tended to.* 

*  See  our  statements  in  the  General  Report  made  by  the  Faculty  to 
the  Trustees,  May  fourteenth,  1823. 


REV.   DR.  TURNER.  117 

The  introductory  address  on  occasion  of 
ojDeniug  the  Seminary  in  the  city  of  New- 
York,  was  delivered  in  Trinity  Church  on  the 
evening  of  March  eleventh,  1822,  by  Bishop 
Hobart ;  on  the  evening  of  December  twentv- 
seventh,  1822,  I  delivered  an  address  in  the 
same  church ;  November  thirteenth,  1823,  Dr. 
Wilson ;  and  subsequently,  Professors  Onder- 
donk  and  Moore  performed  the  same  duty. 
The  classes  attended  the  several  professors  in 
rooms  of  the  Trinity  Church  school,  at  the 
corner  of  Canal  and  Varick  streets,  and  this 
arrangement  was  continued  about  five  years. 

Early  in  May,  1822,  having  rented  a  house 
on  the  south  side  of  Franklin  street  next  to 
the  corner  of  Church,  I  went  with  my  two 
sisters  to  live  there.  We  continued  there 
three  years,  and  then  removed  to  Broadway, 
one  door  south  of  Bleecker  street,  on  the  east 
side,  where  we  lived  two  years. 

In  1824  I  published  in  a  pamphlet  of  one 
hundred  and  thirty  pages,  Notes  on  the  ^Epis- 
tles to  the  Momans.  I  dedicated  this,  the  first 
of  my  publications  to  Bishop  White,  to  whose 
friendship  I  always  felt  that  I  was  indebted 
for  my  connection  with  the  Seminary.  About 
thirty  or  forty  copies  were  sold  ;  the  remainder 
of .  an  issue  of  seven  hundred  and  fifty  I  gave 


118  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

away,  chiefly  to  students  of  the  Seminary, 
whom  I  supplied  for  several  years.  In  this 
work,  (for  I  may  so  call  it,  as  no  little  labor 
was  bestowed  upon  it,)  I  committed  the  prac- 
tical error  of  too  much  brevity,  from  a  desire 
of  producing  the  matter  in  a  cheap  form.  If 
this  did  not  occasion  obscurity,  it  resulted  in  a 
production  which  required  more  trouble  to 
examine  than  even  clergymen  and  candidates 
were  disposed  to  give.  As  my  old  friend,  Dr. 
Henry  Lyon  Davis,  told  me,  it  demanded  too 
much  from  the  reader.  The  Greek  words  were 
printed  in  a  very  contracted  form,  only  two  or 
three  of  the  first  letters  being  given.  Numer- 
ous texts,  necessary  to  be  examined  in  order 
to  perceive  their  bearing  on  the  interpretation 
which  they  were  intended  to  confirm,  were 
merely  referred  to.  The  book  was  rather 
favorably  noticed  in  an  English  periodical. 
But  the  reviewer  charged  the  author  with  a 
good  many  erroneous  interpretations.  Had  he 
taken  the  trouble  to  read  through  the  notes 
which  contained  them,  he  would  have  found 
that  in  almost  all  the  cases  specified,  these  in- 
terpretations were  stated  as  having  been  given 
by  some  previous  commentators,  and  that  the 
author  had  attempted  to  set  them  aside,  and 
to   establish    what   he  regarded   as    the  true 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  119 

meaning.  The  reviewer,  like  very  many  of 
his  brethren,  had  lightly  skimmed  over  the 
book  without  diving  below  its  surface. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  trustees  held  on  July 
twenty-seventh,  1824,  "a  communication  from 
the  South-Carolina  trustees,"  signed  by  Bishop 
Bowen  and  six  other  gentlemen,  was  read,  re- 
commending "  that   measures   be  -  adopted  for 
providing   the  Seminary  as  soon  as   possible, 
with  its  own  proper  habitation,"  and  propos- 
ing to  erect  a  suitable  edifice  on  the  ground 
given  by  Professor  Moore.     On  the  following 
day  it  was  resolved  to  erect  such  a  building, 
and  a  committee  of  five  was  "  appointed  to  re- 
port the  proper  measures  for  carrying  the  reso- 
lution into  effect."     On  the  twenty-eighth  of 
July,  1825,  "the  trustees  assembled  at  the  resi- 
dence of  Professor  Moore,  and  with  the  faculty, 
students,  clergy,  and  an  assemblage  of  citizens, 
formed  a  procession  to  the  site  of  the  intended 
building,  where  after  an  address  and  prayers 
by  the  Presiding  Bishop,  the  corner-stone  was 
laid  by  him,  assisted  by  Bishop  Kemp,  Bishop 
Croes,  and  Bishop  Brownell."     In  the  address 
Bishop  White  expresses   his  joy  on  the  occa- 
sion.    At  the  same  time  he  declares  that  "  he 
would  deprecate  the  laying  of  one  stone  upon 
another,  and  would  withdraw  his  hand  from 


120  AUTOBIOGKAPHY  OF 

the  laying  of  the  first  stone,  if  he  could  foresee 
that  in  the  instruction  to  be  given  in  the  build- 
ing, there  would  at  any  future  time  —  at  pre- 
sent there  is  no  danger  of  it — be  a  departure 
from  those  properties  of  system,  in  doctrine, 
in  discipline,  and  in  worship,  which  in  the 
sixteenth  century  were  cleared  from  supersti- 
tion by  the  leaders  in  the  English  Reforma- 
tion, were  brought  to  the  colonies,  recognized 
by  us  in  the  organization  of  our  American 
Church,  and  under  the  influence  of  the  grace 
of  God,  have  been  persevered  in  by  us  to  the 
present  day."  This  allusion  to  the  errors  of 
Popery,  and  avowal  of  the  fundamental  princi- 
ples of  Protestantism,  as  recognized  by  the  re- 
formed Church  of  England,  are  entirely  in 
harmony  with  the  sentiments  and  feeling 
which  were  habitually  cherished  by  this  most 
distinguished  Bishop  of  our  Church.  He  then 
proceeds  to  "  request  every  person  present  to 
put  up  a  mental  prayer  to  the  Bestower  of  all 
good,  so  to  govern  the  minds  of  those  who 
now  or  who  may  hereafter  superintend  the 
studies  of  the  Institution,  as  that  they  may 
furnish  the  gold,  the  silver,  and  the  precious 
stones  of  sound  doctrine,  to  the  exclusion  of 
the  wood,  the  hay,  and  the  stubble  of  human 
imperfection,  and   that  the   labors  to  be  be- 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  121 

stowed  may  endure  the  fire  of  that  great  day 
which  shall  try  every  man's  work  of  what  sort 
it  is."  The  service  of  the  occasion  was  con- 
cluded with  the  Lord's  Prayer,  some  appro- 
priate collects,  and  a  prayer  for  the  Seminary. 

In  the  year  1825  I  formed  an  acquaintance 
with  Mary  Esther,  second  daughter  of  Burr  age 
Beach,  Esq.,  of  Cheshire,  Connecticut.  The 
loveliness  both  of  person  and  character,  which 
made  this  dear  one  a  favorite  with  all  who 
knew  her,  soon  produced  in  me  its  natural  re- 
sult, and  I  became  deeply  attached  to  her.  To 
my  great  joy  she  reciprocated  the  feeling,  and 
on  the  twenty-third  of  May,  1826,  we  were 
married  in  Cheshire  by  the  Rev.  Tillotson 
Bronson,  D.D.,  an  old  friend  of  the  family. 
My  domestic  happiness  was  now  completed, 
and  I  seemed  to  myself  to  have  become  a  new 
and  settled  man.  I  felt  now  that  my  motives 
to  industry  were  increased,  and  that  I  never 
could  do  enough  to  show  my  gratitude  to  di- 
vine Providence,  and  my  love  to  one  who  had 
consented  to  become  my  companion  and  com- 
forter through  life. 

The  erection  of  the  Seminary  building,  the 

corner-stone  of  which  had  been  laid  in  1825, 

was  delayed  for  a  considerable  time,  so  that  it 

was  not  in  a  condition  to  be  occupied  until 

6 


122  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

]ate  in  the  spring  of  1827.  It  is  the  present 
east  building,  about  one  hundred  feet  long  and 
fifty  deep.  Each  end  is  a  convenient  house  for 
a  professor,  the  west  being  that  which  I  se- 
lected for  a  dwelling,  and  the  middle  part  so 
arranged  as  to  provide  rooms  in  the  basement 
for  the  janitor's  family,  and  a  large  apartment 
on  the  left  of  the  hall  for  a  library.  The  re- 
maining "portion  is  divided  into  rooms  for  the 
students.  The  edifice  is  rather  unsightly.  A 
rude  attempt  was  made  to  give  it  somethiug 
of  a  Gothic  appearance  by  supplying  it  with 
eight  rough  buttresses,  and  attaching  wooden 
fixtures  like  mullions  outside  of  very  plain  win- 
dow-sashes with  square  angles.  The  shingled 
roof  was  surrounded  by  a  wooden  parapet, 
and  the  eight  buttresses  terminated  by  wood- 
en conical  turrets.  These  and  other  similar 
appendages  have  since  been  removed.  Bishop 
Hobart,  who  had  not  been  on  the  ground,  from 
the  time  that  the  corner-stone  was  laid,  until  I 
had  become  established  in  the  house  appropri- 
ated to  me,  having  been,  during  part  of  the 
time,  in  Europe,  expressed  in  my  hearing  his 
feelings  of  disappointment  in  brief  but  most 
marked  language.  Those  who  are  acquainted 
with  the  present  site  and  appearance  of  the 
Seminary,  will  be  surprised  to  learn  that  the 


REV.   DR.  TURNER.  123 

building  lay  in  a  hollow.  The  carriage-en- 
trance thereto,  which  was  in  what  is  now  the 
Ninth  Avenue,  about  half-way  between  Twen- 
tieth and  Twenty-first  streets,  was  about  fifteen 
feet  higher  than  the  spot  on  which  the  edifice 
stood,  and  in  some  places  the  ground  was  eigh- 
teen feet  above  it.  We  drove  down  the  short 
hill  through  a  small  apple-orchard,  and  riding 
behind  the  building  came  round  in  front  of 
the  west  entrance.  There  was  then  no  street 
in  the  neighborhood.  We  were  in  the  coun- 
try, and  the  village  of  Greenwich  lay  between 
us  and  the  city.  One  southern  road  led  into  it, 
which  is  the  present  Ninth  Avenue  and  Hud- 
son street,  and  another  called  Love  Lane,  (now 
Twenty-first  street,)  ran  an  easterly  course  to 
the  Bloomingdale  road.  The  Hudson  River  at 
high  tide  washed  what  is  now  the  Tenth  Ave- 
nue, and  even  a  portion  of  the  lot  east  of  it. 
During  the  winter  the  water  was  sometimes 
ankle  deep  in  front  of  the  house,  so  that  in 
order  to  have  a  dry  access  to  the  lecture-room, 
in  the  centre  of  the  building,  I  had  a  door  cut 
through  the  garret  partition.  One  winter  the 
mud  was  so  deep  immediately  around  the 
building  as  to  make  it  almost  inaccessible,  ex- 
cept on  horseback  or  in  a  carriage.  At  the 
time  that  I  removed  into  the  Seminary  build- 


124  AUTOBIOGEAPHY  OF 

ing  there  was  hardly  a  good  three-story  brick 
house  all  the  way  to  Canal  street.  In  course 
of  time  the  grounds  were  reduced  to  the  pre- 
sent level,  which  is  considerably  above  that 
of  the  adjoining  streets ;  the  low  lots  on  the 
river,  and  even  a  considerable  distance  into  it, 
were  filled  in,  and  the  whole  block  beautifully 
ornamented  with  trees  and  shrubbery.  For 
the  last-mentioned  improvement  we  were  in- 
debted to  Mr.  James  MacFarlan,  a  leading  and 
active  member  of  the  Board. 

I  must  now  go  back  to  mention  some  other 
matters  of  a  private  nature.  It  was  not  until 
the  year  1819  or  1820,  after  I  had  entered 
upon  the  duties  of  my  professorship  in  the 
Seminary,  that  I  began  to  learn  the  French 
language  under  a  native  instructor  in  New- 
York.  Four  or  iive  years  after,  I  commenced 
the  study  of  German,  along  with  the  Rev. 
Manton  Eastburn,  who  at  that  time  was  assist- 
ant minister  to  Dr.  Lyell,  in  Christ  Church. 
Our  teacher  was  a  highly-respected  Lutheran 
clergyman,  of  German  extraction,  though  a 
native  of  Philadelphia,  and  a  good  scholar, 
well  known  and  esteemed  in  the  community. 
But  he  lacked  one  all-important  qualification 
of  a  teacher,  namely,  ability  to  communicate 
knowledge    with    clearness     and    definiteness. 


REV.   DR.  TURNER.  125 

"We  left  him,  therefore,  at  the  expiration  of 
one  quarter,  and  I  pursued  the  study  for  a 
time  alone,  and  afterwards  with  the  assistance 
of  a  native,  who,  however,  showed  the  same  in- 
competency. The  importance  of  this  language 
to  readers  in  general,  and  particularly  to  a 
biblical  student,  induced  me  to  devote  much 
time  to  it.  I  only  regret  that  my  attention 
had  not  been  directed  to  this  and  other  modern 
languages  earlier  in  life. 

Having  been  appointed,  by  the  General  Con- 
vention, a  member  of  a  committee  to  prepare 
and  submit  for  their  action  a  suitable  collec- 
tion of  Hymns  to  be  used  in  public  worship, 
and  also  to  make  selections  for  the  same  pur- 
pose from  Tate  and  Brady's  version  of  the 
Psalms,  with  such  alterations  as  might  be 
thought  necessary  or  expedient — in  1825  or  '26 
—  I  employed  some  of  my  leisure  time  in  at- 
tending to  this  duty.  With  the  version  before 
mentioned  I  compared  carefully  our  Bible 
and  Common  Prayer  Book  translations;  also 
Dathe's  Latin  Translation,  and  the  Septuagint 
and  Hebrew.  I  think,  also,  that  I  made  use 
of  Luther's  German.  The  result  of  these  com- 
parisons I  embodied  in  certain  communications 
which  were  published  in  one  of  our  Church 
periodicals  of  the  day.     I  was  thus  enabled  to 


126  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

suggest  alterations  in  the  language,  and  occa- 
sionally in  the  sentiment  of  that  portion  of 
the  old  metrical  Psalter  which  is  still  in  use  ; 
and  as  several  of  them  were  adopted  by  the 
Committee,  and  incorporated  into  the  version, 
I  presume  that  they  may  be  regarded  as  im- 
provements. 

An  alumnus  of  the  Seminary,  "William  R. 
Whittingham,  who,  while  a  pupil,  had  distin- 
guished himself  for  careful  preparation,  thor- 
ough research,  and  conscientious  discharge  of 
every  duty,  and  who,  since  his  admission  into 
the  ministry,  has  further  distinguished  himself 
as  a  prominent  man,  in  the  highest  ecclesiasti- 
cal body  of  the  Church,  assented  to  a  proposal 
of  cooperating  with  me  in  preparing  for  the 
press  a  translation  of  Jahn's  Introduction  to 
the  Old  Testament.  The  author's  Latin  work 
was  made  the  basis,  but  the  larger  German 
was  also  carefully  examined,  and  a  considerable 
proportion  of  its  more  important  matter  was 
incorporated  partly  in  the  text,  but  chiefly  in 
notes.  The  translators  also  appended  notes 
of  their  own,  and  in  those  cases  particularly, 
where  they  thought  it  important  to  correct  cer- 
tain loose  or  doubtful  views  of  the  author. 
Once,  at  the  urgent  request  of  Mr.  Whitting- 
ham,  I  consented   to   add   the   initial  of  my   , 


REV.  DR.   TURNER.  127 

name  to  a  note  of  some  length,  which  I  had 
prepared  on  the  Samaritan  Pentateuch.  Both 
translation  and  notes,  however,  were  through- 
out examined  by  both  of  us,  and  in  the  Preface 
we  acknowledged  ourselves  "  responsible .  for 
every  part."  The  book  was  published  by  the 
Carvills,  in  an  octavo  volume  of  five  hundred 
and  forty-six  pages.  So  little  interest  has  been 
taken  in  the  critical  study  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment that  a  second  edition  has  never  been 
published.  Yet  it  embodies  more  biblical  in- 
formation relating  to  the  Old  Testament  than 
any  other  book  of  its  size. 

On  the  seventeenth  of  October,  1827,  about 
six  months  after  our  establishment  in  the  Semi- 
nary building,  our  first  child  was  born.  She 
was  baptized  by  the  Eight  Rev.  Bishop  Hobart, 
D.D.,  on  Sunday  afternoon,  December  thirtieth, 
1827,  in  the  Chapel  of  the  Theological  Semi- 
nary, and  named  after  her  maternal  grand- 
mother, Julia  Beach.  The  prayer,  which,  on 
recording  her  birth  in  the  folio  edition  of  the 
Bible,  Edinburgh,  1793,  which  came  to  me  with 
other  books  of  my  father's,  I  also  recorded, 
namely,  "  that  we  may  educate  her  as  a  good 
Christian  and  acccomplished  woman,  and  that 
God  may  spare  her  to  be  a  comfort  to  our 
future  years,"  the  wise  Controller  of  all  things 


128  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

thought  it  best  not  to  grant.  This  our  first 
child  was  taken  to  her  heavenly  Father  on  the 
second  of  April,  a  quarter  after  two  a.m.,  1831. 
She  died  of  scarlet  fever,  after  a  short  illness 
of  thirty-five  hours,  on  the  morning  after  Good 
Friday,  having  been  apparently  quite  well  the 
day  before.  She  was  an  interesting  and  lovely 
child,  of  more  than  ordinary  intelligence  for 
her  years,  and  very  sweet  and  amiable  in 
her  disposition.  Her  remarkable  precocity 
of  mind,  *the  tenacity  of  her  memory,  which 
enabled  her  to  retain  many  hymns  and  little 
poetic  pieces  taught  her  by  her  mother  and 
aunts,  and  her  admiration  of  the  beauties  of 
nature,  which  she  would  often  express  when 
observing  a  glorious  sunset,  made  her  attrac- 
tive to  and  beloved  by  all  our  friends.  The 
last  articulate  sounds  that  she  uttered  were 
those  of  the  Lord's  Prayer.  Her  death  was  a 
heavy  blow  to  us,  but  I  may  truly  say  that  we 
both  acquiesced  in  the  will  of  God,  assured 
that  His  providential  dispensation  must  be 
right,  however  inadequately  we  could  see  its 
true  scope  and  purpose. 

The  long  room,  in  the  middle  part  of  the 
Seminary,  which  was  appropriated  for  a  Libra- 
ry, and  which  is  still  used  for  the  same  pur- 
pose, was  the  professors'  only  lecture  and  reci- 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  129 

tation-room.  There  we  generally  attended  the 
classes,  accommodating  each  other  as  to  time. 
Subsequently,  however,  we  found  it  necessary  to 
make  use  of  one  of  the  basement  rooms,  which 
had  been  occupied  by  the  janitor,  and  is  so  still. 
As  the  walls  of  the  Library  afforded  more 
than  ample  space  for  the  books,  and  conse- 
quently the  whole  middle  part  was  free,  Dr. 
Wilson  and  myself,  the  same  year  that  I  re- 
moved to  the  Seminary,  established  there  a 
regular  Sunday-morning  service.  It  was  at- 
tended by  our  families,  also  by  that  of  Pro- 
fessor Moore,  who  resided  in  the  immediate 
neighborhood,  by  the  students,  and  some  of  the 
residents  of  the  vicinity.  A  Sunday-school 
was  soon  formed,  in  which  several  of  the  stu- 
dents took  an  active  part.  Some  ladies  also 
showed  a  lively  interest  in  this  good  work; 
among  whom  may  be  mentioned  Dr.  Moore's 
two  elder  daughters,  Miss  Martin,  who  super- 
intended Dr.  "Wilson's  domestic  establishment, 
and  my  sister  Eliza.  The  school  became  very 
nourishing,  and  the  little  congregation  in- 
creased, so  that  in  a  few  years  a  parish  was 
organized.  St.  Peter's  Chapel  was  built,  and 
the  Rev.  Benjamin  I.  Haight,  who  had  just 
finished  his  course  in  the  Seminary,  took 
charge  of  the  congregation  in  1831  or '32.  He 
6* 


180  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

was  succeeded  by  an  English  clergyman,  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Pyne,  and  he  by  Dr.  Hugh  Smith, 
in  the  commencement  of  whose  rectorship  St. 
Peter's  Church  was  built,  the  chapel  being 
altered  into  a  house  for  the  rector.  Thus  the 
few  people  who  assembled  for  worship  in  the 
Library,  and  the  Sunday  scholars  who  were 
there  taught,  were  the  nucleus  of  the  congre- 
gation of  that  church. 

During  my  previous  residence  in  the  city 
and  afterwards  at  the  Seminary  I  devoted  my 
leisure  time  principally  to  study,  reviewed  a 
good  many  Latin  classics,  read  Homer's  Iliad 
through,  kept  up  a  regular  course  of  German 
reading,  especially  in  Schiller,  with  a  large  por- 
tion of  whose  works  I  became  quite  familiar, 
studied  the  Old  Testament  in  Hebrew,  with 
the  Chaldee  portions,  also  attended  to  the 
Syriac  language,  and  read  in  it  the  Gospel  of 
St.  John,  and  some  other  parts  of  the  JSTew 
Testament.  During  the  same  time  I  devoted 
much  attention  to  Rabbinic.  I  made  unassisted 
efforts  to  read  and  understand  the  Commenta- 
ries of  Jarchi  and  D.  Kimchi,  but  found  them, 
especially  ^Le  former,  wholly  dark  and  unintel- 
ligible. After  some  time  I  procured  the  aid  of 
a  well-instructed  Polish  Jew,  Posnanski,  and 
again  of  a  German  named  Barschall,  a  good 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  131 

Rabbinical  scholar,  who  endeavored  to  make 
me  pay  fifty  dollars  for  ten  hours'  instruction, 
but  was  obliged  to  content  himself  with  half 
the  amount.  After  a  while  I  became  acquaint- 
ed with  Dr.  Nordheiiner,  the  author  of  a  val- 
uable Hebrew  Grammar,  who  unhappily  was 
cut  off  in  the  midst  of  a  career  of  literary 
biblical  usefulness.  He  was  a  deeply -read 
Jew,  an  honorable  man,  who  made  no  pretense 
of  a  conversion  to  Christianity,  although  he 
was  by  no  means  an  advocate  of  Talmudical 
fables  and  extravagance.  We  read  together 
some  time,  and  I  also  began  with  him  the 
study  of  Arabic.  In  course  of  time,  I  read  by 
myself  Locman's  Fables,  and  two  Suras  of  the 
Koran,  making  use  of  Kosegarten's  Glossary, 
and  Gisrgeio's  Lexicon  in  four  folio  volumes. 
This  last  work  I  imported  from  England,  hav- 
ing seen  it  announced  for  sale  in  a  London  cat- 
alogue. It  is  dedicated  to  the  Holy  Ghost,  the 
author  of  the  gift  of  tongues !  I  had  a  fine 
coj)y  of  Marracci's  Koran,  which  has  become 
exceedingly  scarce.  I  regret  very  much  that, 
after  some  years,  the  pressure  of  various  duties, 
together  with  other  circumstances,  led  me  to 
neglect  the  study  of  these  languages.  I  believe 
that  the  practice  of  reading  a  Rabbinical  com- 
mentary, in  rather  small  print,  at  night,  weak- 


132  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

ened  my  eyes.  A  painful  attack,  occasioned 
by  a  cold,  lasting  about  ten  days,  compelled  me 
to  use  them  with  great  caution  and  moderation, 
and  soon  after  I  was  obliged  to  resort  to 
spectacles.  In  general,  however,  I  have  been 
greatly  blessed  with  good  sight ;  for  which  I 
desire  to  be  duly  thankful. 


REV.  DR.   TURNER.  133 


x 


CHAPTER    VII. 

Clerical  Association  in  New-York — Object  of  it  —  Constitution 
— Bishop  Hobart's  Attack  upon  it  —  Dr.  Turner's  Reply — 
The  Course  pursued  by  the  Members  —  Erroneous  Impres- 
sions— Essays,  etc.,  in  Biblical  Literature. 

In  the  spring  of  the  year  1829,  an  unpleas- 
ant affair  occurred,  which  I  think  proper  to 
relate  somewhat  in  detail,  inasmuch  as  its  his- 
tory and  development  involve  some  principles 
of  importance. 

A  few  of  my  clerical  brethren,  feeling  desir- 
ous of  contributing  to  their  mutual  improve- 
ment, both  in  religious  character  and  theologi- 
cal knowledge,  agreed  to  meet  each  other  at 
stated  times  to  converse  on  some  topic  of  di- 
vinity, or  religion,  or  pastoral  duty,  previously 
proposed  and  adopted  for  consideration.  The 
members  were  to  assemble  in  turn  at  each 
other's  houses,  take  tea  together,  and  after  unit- 
ing in  prayer  —  appropriate  selections  having 
been  made  from  an  English  publication — com- 
municate their  respective  views  and  thoughts 
upon  the  particular  point  which  had  been  j)re- 
viously  agreed  on.  In  order  to  carry  out  their 
object  the  more  effectually,  they  adopted  the 


134  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

following  very  simple  Constitution,  and  had  a 
moderate  number  of  copies  printed,  together 
with  the  forms  of  prayer,  for  the  use  of  the 
members : 

Constitution. 

"Article  1.  This  Association  shall  be  called 
The  Protestant  Episcopal  Clerical  Association 
of  the  City  of  New  •  Yorh,  and  shall  have  for 
its  object  the  promotion  of  the  personal  piety 
and  the  official  usefulness  of  its  members,  by 
devotional  exercises,  and  by  conversation  on 
missionary  and  such  other  religious  subjects,  as 
may  conduce  to  mutual  edification. 

'-Article  2.  There  shall  be  attached  to  this 
Association  a  Secretary,  who  shall  be  one  of 
the  members.  He  may  be  elected  annually, 
and  shall  continue  in  office  until  a  successor  be 
chosen.  It  shall  be  his  duty  to  keep  a  record 
of  the  members  of  the  Association,  the  times 
and  places  of  its  meetings,  the  subjects  consid- 
ered, and  such  other  things  as  may  from  time 
to  time  be  directed.  He  shall  call  special  meet- 
ings of  the  Association  at  the  request  of  any 
three  of  its  members. 

"Article  3.  None  but  clergymen  of  the  Pro- 
testant Episcopal  Church  may  be  members  of 
this  Association.     Any  such  clergyman  in  the 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  135 

city  of  New -York,  or  its  vicinity,  may  become 
a  member  by  signifying  bis  disposition  in  writ- 
ing to  tbe  Secretary,  with  bis  approbation  of 
tbe  nature  and  object  of  tbe  Association.  Any 
member  bas  liberty  to  invite  a  Protestant  Epis- 
copal minister,  not  resident  in  tbe  city  of  New- 
York  or  its  vicinity,  to  attend  any  of  tbe  regu- 
lar meetings  of  tbe  Association. 

u Article  4.  Every  meeting  of  tbe  Associa- 
tion sball  be  opened  and  concluded  witb  a 
form  of  prayer;  and  tbe  member  at  wbose 
bouse  tbe  meeting  is  beld  sball  preside. 

^Article  5.  Tbis  Constitution  may  be  alter- 
ed only  by  a  vote  of  two  tbirds  of  tbe  mem- 
bers of  tbe  Association." 

Tbe  wbole  number  of  clergymen  tbus  as- 
sociating was  ten,  arpbabetically  as  follows: 
tbe  Rev.  Drs.  or  Messrs.  Cruse,  Eastburn, 
Evan  Jobnson,  Mcllvaine,  Milnor,  Muhlenberg, 
Scbroeder,  Seabury,  Turner,  and  Wainwrigbt. 
As  tbe  Association  continued  in  existence  a 
very  sbort  period,  it  received  no  accessions. 

Tbe  prospect  of  meeting  sucb  a  friendly  and 
fraternal  company,  for  a  purpose  so  good  and 
laudable,  was  very  gratifying  to  me.  I  bad 
long  tbougbt  tbat  tbe  clergy  of  tbe  Episcopal 
Cburcb  did  not  sufficiently  confer  togetber  in 


136  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

reference  to  the  practical  duties  of  their  pro- 
fession, and  to  their  own  advancement  in  theo- 
logical knowledge.  I  had  no  doubt  that  more 
frequent  and  familiar  intercourse,  and  a  free 
and  friendly  interchange  of  sentiment,  would 
tend  to  bring  out  the  numerous  important 
points  in  which  they  agreed,  and,  by  a  clear 
exposition  of  the  varied  phraseology  in  use, 
would  show  also  that  the  real  differences  of 
opinion  were  neither  numerous  nor  weighty. 
The  few  occasions  on  which  I  was  present  with 
the  Association  were  very  agreeable,  and,  as  it 
appeared  to  me,  gave  decided  evidence  of  a 
useful  tendency,  both  in  imparting  information 
and  in  eliciting  thought  and  knowledge. 

The  Society  had  been  in  operation  only  a 
few  weeks,  when,  to  my  utter  surprise  and 
amazement,  the  Bishop  of  the  diocese  issued 
a  pastoral  letter  addressed  to  its  clergy  and 
laity,  objecting  to  the  Association,  and  warn- 
ing against  it.  In  private  conversation  with 
Drs.  Milnor  and  Wainwright,  the  Bishop  had 
"unofficially"  objected  to  the  -  formation  of 
such  an  association.  As  my  residence  was  then 
in  a  very  retired  position,  I  had  not  heard  of 
his  expressed  opposition,  and  therefore,  when 
his  published  letter  came  to  me,  I  actually 
looked  twice  at  the  title  before  I  could  feel  sat- 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  137 

isfied  that  our  Clerical  Association  was  what 
he  intended  to  denounce.  That  an  Association 
in  itself  so  harmless,  and  in  its  tendencies  so 
beneficial,  should  have  been  publicly  attacked 
by  the  highest  ecclesiastical  authority  of  the 
diocese,  and  held  up  as  a  thing  to  be  shunned, 
appeared  scarcely  credible. 

After  noting  the  definite  name,  lL  The  Associ- 
ation," as  a  "  title"  which  u  a,  minority  of  the 
clergy  have  thought  themselves  warranted  in 
assuming  for  their  Association,  of  which  the 
Bishop  and  a  large  majority  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  clergy  of  the  city  have  declined  be- 
ing or  are  not  members,"  and  making  some 
general  introductory  remarks,  the  letter  pro- 
ceeds to  give  the  diocesan's  reasons  for  consid- 
ering the  plan  of  such  an  association  "  inexpe- 
dient and  unnecessary? 

"  1.  Though  every  clergyman  should  aim  at 
the  greatest  piety  and  zeal,  and  with  this  view 
should  devote  himself,  habitually  and  earnest- 
ly and  fervently,  to  private  reading,  medita- 
tion, and  prayer,  and  should  avail  himself  of 
occasional  opportunities  of  counsel  and  con- 
verse with  his  brethren ;  yet,  organized  clerical 
associations  for  prayer  and  spiritual  conversa- 
tion, and  expounding  of  Scripture,  have  a 
strong  tendency  to  become  the  theatres  of  spir- 


138  AUTOBIOGEAPHY  OF 

itual  vanity  and  ostentation,  and  of  that  pecu- 
liar and  artificial  language  of  religion,  which  is 
significantly  denoted  by  the  term  cant;  and 
than  which,  there  is  not  any  thing  more  offens- 
ive to  the  delicacy,  simplicity,  and  purity  of 
genuine  piety. 

2.  "In  these  associations,  excitement  is  the 
object."  This  being  presumed,  the  inference  is 
thus  stated:  "The  heats  of  enthusiasm  will 
soon  influence  religious  conversation;  reason 
may  remonstrate — but  what  is  the  still,  small 
voice  of  reason  amidst  the  storms  of  enthusi- 
asm V  Appeal  is  made  to  "  the  history  of  the 
Church  of  England  in  the  reigns  of  Elizabeth 
and  the  first  Charles,"  with  a  special  reference 
to  the  celebrated  " -prophesying %"  and  also  to 
the  rise  of  Methodism. 

3.  The  Bishop  expresses  his  approbation  of 
"  conversation  on  religious  subjects,  in  the  ordi- 
nary course  of  those  occasional  meetings  which 
clergymen  always  have;"  but  objects  to  it  at 
"  a  meeting  organized  with  its  presiding  officer, 
its  secretary,  its  book  of  minutes,  etc.,  etc.,  in 
which  I  must  talk  spiritually,  in  which  I  am  to 
'prepare  to  talk  spiritually,  in  which  the  emu- 
lation may  be,  who  can  talk  most  spiritually. 
Well  will  it  be,  if  discussion  begun  for  '  mutu- 
al edification,'  does  not  end  in  mutual  strife." 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  139 

4.  He  objects  chiefly  to  such  associations,  be- 
cause "  they  may  be  made  the  powerful  instru- 
ments of  intrigue,  and  engines  of  party?  He 
does  not  assert,  however,  that  "  such  is  the  ten- 
dency or  design  of  the  particular1'  one  in  ques- 
tion, or  even  the  "  capability  of  any  individual 
connected  with  it."  Only  supposing  an  impe- 
tus to  be  given,  and  "  the  power  that  gives  it 
to  be  acquired  by  one  or  more  members  of  these 
associations,  and  who  will  say  that  they  will 
not  be  made  the  instruments  of  faction  ?  Most 
are  they  to  be  dreaded  under  the  popular  form 
in  which,  in  many  respects,  our  Church  is  in 
this  country  organized.  Our  bishops  are  elect- 
ive; various  officers  intrusted  with  important 
duties,  standing  committees,  etc.,  etc.,  are  elect- 
ive. It  is  of  great  importance  to  guard  against 
the  operations  of  faction  and  party  influence." 

5.  Another  objection  is  thus  expressed : 
"These  associations  for  promoting  personal 
piety  and  mutual  edification,  by  devotional 
exercises  and  religious  conversation,  etc.,  will 
become  not  only  the  instruments,  but  the  invi- 
dious badges  of  party.  Those  who  engage  in 
them,  however  they  may  disclaim  the  represen- 
tation, will  be  held  up  as  more  evangelical, 
more  spiritual,  more  devoted  to  their  Master's 
service,  than  those  who  do  not  avail  themselves 


140  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

of  these  plausible  means  of  personal  piety  and 
mutual  edification."  The  Bishop  argues  against 
such  an  association,  because  it  may  produce 
evils  of  the  kind  stated.  He  had  expected 
that  the  intention  of  forming  the  Association 
would  be  abandoned  in  consequence  of  his  pri- 
vate representation  made  to  the  two  clergymen 
before  mentioned.  "  On  the  ministers  of  Christ 
this  ready  relinquishment  of  whatever  is  not 
essential,  in  deference  to  the  wishes,  the  feel- 
ings, and  the  characters  of  a  respectable  por- 
tion of  their  brethren,  and  of  him  who  is  set 
over  them  in  the  Lord,  seemed  to  him  an  im- 
perative act  of  delicacy,  kindness,  and  duty, 
not  permitting  a  moment's  hesitation." 

The  above  is  a  condensed  but  faithful  state- 
ment of  all  the  reasoning  contained  in  the  pas- 
toral letter,  and  expressed,  for  the  most  part,  in 
its  own  words. 

On  the  appearance  of  the  pastoral  letter,  the 
Association  thought  it  right  to  publish  the 
Constitution  and  prayers,  which  before  had 
been  "printed  exclusively  for  their  own  use, 
and,  with  the  exception  of  half-a-dozen  copies 
at  most,  retained  in  their  own  possession."  To 
them  were  now  prefixed  a  few  "  Prefatory  Ke- 
marks."  These  remarks  gave  occasion  to  a 
pamphlet  issued  under  the  title :  "  A  Vindica- 


EEV.   DR.   TURNER.  141 

tion  of  the  Pastoral  Letter  from  the  Animad- 
versions contained  in  the  i  Prefatory  Remarks,' " 
etc.  Some  mistakes  in  point  of  fact  and  doc- 
trine in  the  Vindication,  were  corrected  in  an 
addition  appended  to  "the  Account,"  a  notice 
of  which  will  immediately  be  given. 

In  consequence  of  this  publicly  announced 
opposition  of  the  Bishop,  Dr.  Wainwright, 
who  had  been  on  terms  of  close  intimacy  with 
him,  and  who  was  the  rector  of  Grace  Church, 
thought  it  a  duty  to  relinquish  his  connection 
with  the  Society.  Mr.  Schroeder  also,  being  as- 
sociated with  the  Bishop  as  an  assistant  minis- 
ter of  Trinity  Parish,  felt  himself  to  be  in  a 
very  delicate  position.  It  was  apprehended  too, 
and  not  without  reason,  that  if  the  Association 
were  continued,  notwithstanding  the  avowed 
opposition  of  the  Bishop  and  such*  of  the  clergy 
as  harmonized  with  him  on  the  subject,  it  could 
hardly  fail  to  become  the  organ  of  a  party. 
For  now  no  clergymen  would  attach  them- 
selves to  it,  who  were  not  ready  or  willing  to 
come  in  collision  with  the  Bishop,  and  there- 
fore any  accession  which  it  might  hereafter 
gain,  would  be  altogether  of  Churchmen  of  one 
particular  stamp.  The  members  were  unwill- 
ing to  subject  the  Association  to  such  a  dilem- 
ma, and  therefore  they  came  to  the  conclusion 


142  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

that,  simply  on  the  ground  of  expediency,  it 
would  be  best  to  dissolve  it.  The  nature  of 
this  reason,  as  it  involved  a  point  of  extreme 
delicacy,  they  could  not  fully  develop  and  pub- 
lish freely  to  the  world.  This  would  have 
been  to  proclaim  their  reluctance  that  the  As- 
sociation should  be  composed  almost  exclusive- 
ly of  one  of  the  two  leading  classes.  Yet  I 
know  that  this  consideration  had  no  slight 
weight  in  determining  their  judgment  as  to 
the  expediency  of  dissolving. 

But  they  could  not  think  of  dissolving  with- 
out vindicating  what  they  had  done.  It  was 
therefore  determined  to  issue  a  publication  to 
this  effect,  and  to  defend  the  Association  from 
the  Bishop's  objections.  The  obligation  of  pre- 
paring the  reply  was  imposed  on  me.  I  under- 
took it,  as  the  agent  and  spokesman  of  the 
union,  and  because  I  felt  it  to  be  a  serious  duty 
to  give  publicity  to  what  I  then  believed  and 
do  now  believe  to  be  the  simple  truth  of  the 
case.  I  spoke  my  mind  respectfully  but  plain- 
ly, claiming  what  I  regarded  as  every  sincere 
and  intelligent  Christian  man's  right,  which, 
also,  the  Reformation  had  recognized,  and 
showing  the  inadequacy  of  the  reasoning  in 
the  pastoral  letter.  When  the  paper  was  read 
to  the  members,  some  expressions  were  thought 


REV.   DR.  TURNER.  143 

to  be  too  strong,  and  therefore  objected  to  by 
Dr.  Milnor,  and  one  or  two  others.  They  were 
consequently  modified.  Mr.  Seabury's  opinion 
was,  that  the  statements  were  not  strong 
enough.  In  other  respects  also  he  seemed  to 
think  that  the  paper  needed  alteration.  At 
my  request,  he  took  and  examined  it,  but  re- 
turned it  unaltered,  Subsequently,  in  a  very 
friendly  letter  which  he  wrote  me,  and  which 
I  shall  have  occasion  hereafter  to  quote,  he 
thanks  me  for  what  I  had  done,  and  ex- 
presses a  "high  degree  of  satisfaction  at  the 
manner  in  which  it  had  been  executed."  With 
such  modifications  as  have  been  alluded  to,  the 
paper  was  accepted,  and  directed  to  be  publish- 
ed with  the  following  title :  "  Account  of  the 
True  Nature  and  Object  of  the  late  Protestant 
Episcopal  Clerical  Association  of  the  City  of 
New-York,  together  with  a  Defense  of  the  Asso- 
ciation from  objections  which  have  been  urged 
against  it,  and  an  explanation  of  the  reasons 
which  have  led  to  its  dissolution.  By  the 
Members  of  the  Association.  c  Let  every  man 
be  fully  persuaded  in  his  own  mind.'  St. 
Paul."  I  shall  endeavor  to  give  a  brief  but 
fair  statement  of  its  contents. 

The  publication  begins  by  requesting  of  the 
"reader  a  candid  examination  of  the  subject, 


144  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

with  unbiassed  reflection  on  its  nature,  on  the 
principles  it  involves,  and  on  the  results  to 
which  it  leads."  It  states  the  motives  which 
produced  it :  "  We  have  no  intention  or  wish 
to  disturb  the  harmony  of  the  Church.  Those 
who  have  known  us  longest  and  most  intimate- 
ly will,  we  are  confident,  do  us  justice  on  this 
point;  and  against  some  of  us  calumny  has 
never  dared  to  make  the  charge. 

"  Neither  do  we  wish  to  wound  the  feelings 
or  lessen  the  proper  and  legitimate  influence  of 
the  Bishop.  Could  we  effect  such  an  object, 
its  attainment  would  recoil  upon  ourselves  with 
tenfold  force,  and  injury  inflicted  on  the  head 
would  effectually  destroy  the  members." 

After  disavowing  any  desire  "  to  gratify  cor- 
rupt and  malignant  passions,"  the  positive  mo- 
tives are  stated. 

1.  "A  sacred  regard  to  truth;"  a  wish  to 
correct  "  impressions  with  respect  to  the  nature 
of  the  Association"  which  are  "entirely  un- 
founded, and  views  strangely  and  grossly  erro- 
neous." 

2.  "An  honorable  regard  to  our  own  char- 
acters and  influence ;  the  esteem  of  wise  and 
good  men"  being  of  "intrinsic  value,  and  the 
respect  of  the  members  of  (our)  Church  abso- 
lutely essential  to  our  usefulness." 


REV.   DR.    TURNER.  145 

3.  "  An  affectionate  regard  to  the  pious  part 
of  our  ecclesiastical  community."  In  connec- 
tion with  this  point,  a  reference  is  made,  bear- 
ing on  the  application  of  the  term  cant,  which 
is  represented  as  "the  legitimate  offspring  of 
ignorance  and  fanaticism,  whether  it  be  asso- 
ciated with  the  most  ardent  piety,  when  it  is 
misnamed  religious,  or  whether  it  .is  leagued 
on  the  side  of  indecision,  indulgence,  and  sin, 
when  it  is  properly  to  be  denominated  the  cant 
of  the  world? 

4.  "  A  sincere  regard  for  the  best  interests  of 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  United 
States.  Any  aberration  from  her  moderate 
and  conciliatory  principles,  any  deviation  from 
her  enlarged  spirit  and  noble  magnanimity, 
shown  by  directly  or  indirectly  discouraging 
the  exercise  of1  rights,  which  neither  her  princi- 
ples or  usages  have  ever  withheld  from  her 
clergy  in  general,  would  be  injurious  to  her 
influence  and  extension  any  where,  and  espe- 
cially in  such  a  country  as  ours." 

The  account  then  proceeds  to  state  "the 
object  of  the  Association,"  and  the  desire  of 
several  clergymen,  among  whom  was  the  late 
rector  of  St.  Thomas's  Church,  the  Rev.  Corne- 
lius Dufne,  for  such  meetings.  The  Bishop's 
advice  was  given  in  friendship,  and  was  never 


146  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF  ' 

regarded  in  any  other  light  than  as  a  private 
expression  of  opinion.  The  publication  of  "  his 
pastoral  letter  without  any  communication 
with  the  Association,  either  orally  or  in  writ- 
ing/' was  "  not  merely  to  the  surprise  but  to 
the  utter  astonishment  of  every  member,  some 
of  whom  would  not  believe  the  rumor  of  its 
publication  when  it  reached  them."  Then  fol- 
low the  Constitution,  and  a  brief  specimen  of 
the  minutes  of  .a  meeting ;  introduced  to  cor- 
rect known  misapprehensions,  which  had  been 
received,  if  not  misstatements  which  had  been 
circulated. 

"  The  members  "  then  proceed  to  "  point  out 
to  the  reader  the  objects  which  the  Associa- 
tion had  in  view." 

The  "first  was  to  promote  piety  in  them- 
selves, in  their  brethren,  and  thus  indirectly  in 
their  congregations."  They  repel  the  charge 
of  intimating  want  of  it  in  .their  brethren, 
but  maintain  that,  "  however  great  may  be  the 
piety  of  the  clergy,  it  is  for  the  good  of  them- 
selves and  of  the  Church  at  large,  to  be  habit- 
ually increasing  it." 

Their  "second  object  was,  to  improve  in 
knowledge  connected  with  their  profession." 
The  importance  of  such  improvement  is  illus- 
trated.    "  Superficial  knowledge  is  sure  to  pro- 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  147 

cluce  superficial  preaching,  because  it  can  not 
instruct,  and  consequently  can  not  permanently 
impress  a  rational  creature." 

"Another  object"  hoped  for  was,  "the  pro- 
motion of  harmony  of  feeling,  of  character, 
and,  in  a  measure,  of  views  of  Christian  doc- 
trine. The  members  did  not  doubt  that  good 
men,  of  different  views,  by  being  brought  to- 
gether, might  be  led  to  form  a  more  favorable 
estimate  of  each  other's  character,  and  that 
thus  a  spirit  of  conciliation  would  be  mutually 
excited,  unkind  suspicions  removed,  and  charity 
enkindled  in  each  breast." 

Such  being  "the  nature  and  objects  of  the 
Association,"  they  ask  whether  "it  is  really 
necessary  to  defend  it  ?  With  an  object  ac- 
knowledged to  be  good,  with  ties  of  unity  con- 
fessedly of  the  strongest  hind,  with  no  other 
prayers  than  such  as  are  granted  to  be  adapted 
to  the  end  in  view,  might  it  not  have  been  expect- 
ed that  something  should  have  been  yielded  to 
the  influence  of  gentlemanly  and  Christian  feel- 
ings, cooperating  with  assistance  from  above, 
to  restrain  any  member  of  such  an  Association 
from  running  into  the  evils  assumed  to  be  its 
natural  result  t  We  are  compelled  to  regard 
■the  subject  in  a  very  different  light  from  our 
diocesan." 


148  AUTOBIOGEAPHY  OF 

Dr.  Wain  Wright's  letter  is  then  given  in  full, 
containing  the  reasons  of  his  determination  to 
leave  the  Association.  A  few  observations  on 
the  letter  are  appended,  with  the  view  of  doing 
justice  to  the  writer,  and  also  of  presenting  cer- 
tain points  in  which  the  members  dissented 
from  him.  It  states  also  the  reasons  which  led 
them  to  dissolve  the  institution.  The  discon- 
nection of  Dr.  Wainwright  would  tend  to  pre- 
vent accessions  to  the  body.  They  would  be 
subjected  to  censure  for  continuing  in  opposi- 
tion to  the  Bishop's  publicly  expressed  wish, 
and  exposed  to  the  charge  of  party  feeling. 
The  pastoral  letter  would,  no  doubt,  become 
the  occasion  of  frustrating  the  main  purposes 
of  the  organization.  "  Such  are  our  reasons 
for  dissolving.  Not  that  we  are  convinced  of 
the  injurious  tendency  of  the  Association ;  not 
that  we  admit  the  obligation  of  acquiescing  in 
the  views  of  the  Bishop,  on  matters  left  free 
to  individual  judgment  by  the  wisdom  of  the 
Church;  not  that  we  admit  that,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  dilemma  in  which  the  pastoral 
letter  placed  us,  more  evil  than  good  would 
necessarily  have  resulted  from  continuing.  We 
do  not  thereby  consider  ourselves  as  in  any 
measure  pledged  to  form  no  similar  association, 
so  long  as  the  laws  of  the  Church  leave  us  in 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  149 

this  respect  free  to  exercise  our  own  judg- 
ments. Legislative  enactments  we  will  always 
obey,  provided  they  are  not  opposed  to  the 
requisitions  of  our  consciences." 

The  members  of  the  Association  felt  that  a 
proper  sense  of  self-respect  required  them  to 
vindicate  themselves  "  from  the  charges  that 
had  been  brought  against  them."  They  begin 
by  noting  "the  inrpression  which  the  pastoral 
letter  of  a  Bishop,  printed  and  published,  will 
naturally  produce  on  a  large  body  of  the  com- 
munity. In  the  present  case  it  must  tend  to 
our  disadvantage.  We  do  not  speak  of  its  de- 
sign; we  speak  of  its  tendency.  No  man  can 
doubt,  for  a  moment,  that  the  expression  of  dis- 
approbation, through  such  a  channel,  is  virtually 
a  public  admonition." 

They  then  take  up  the  various  objections, 
as  before  given  from  the  pastoral  letter  under 
their  respective  numbers.  Previously,  how- 
ever, they  set  aside  the  censure  on  the  title, 
by  remarking,  that,  if  the  indefinite  article  had 
been  used  it  might  have  given  rise  to  the  in- 
quiry, "  Is  this  only  one  of  several  clerical  as- 
sociations ?  or,  is  it  in  contemplation  to  form 
other  such  ? "  and  also  that  other  societies  are 
designated  in  the  same  way,  as,  for  instance 
"  The  Literary  and  Philosophical  Society — The 


150  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

Historical   Society ;"    such  phraseology   being 
sanctioned  by  usage. 

1.  The  fact  of  the  Association  being  organ- 
ized does  not  prove  it  to  have  the  tendency 
with  which  it  is  charged.  There  is  no  "  connec- 
tion between  organization  and  cant."  The  evils 
apprehended  may  exist  as  well  rt  without  a  con- 
stitution as  with  one,  in  'occasional'1  meetings 
of  the  clergy  as  in  regular ;  in  conversation  on 
religious  topics  when  a  party  of  clergymen 
meet  incidentally,  as  when  they  meet  for  the 
purpose.  The  truth  is,  the  consequence  of 
which  the  Bishop  thus  expresses  his  apprehen- 
sion, is  only  to  be  feared  upon  the  supposi- 
tion that  the  clergy  should  become  a  set  of  ig- 
norant enthusiasts."  Had  there  been  no  con- 
stitution, "  what  jDledge  would  we  have  given 
to  each  other  or  to  the  Church,  that  our  '  As- 
sociation' should  be  l Protestant,'  or  'Episco- 
pal,' or  '  clerical  ? '  How  could  we  have  pro- 
vided against  the  admission  of  non-Episcopal 
members  ?"  If  "  nothing  had  been  determined 
as  to  the  manner  in  which  the  devotions  should 
be  conducted,  would  it  not  have  been  objected 
with  reason,  that  we  were  not  at  all  solicitous 
to  conform  to  the  usages  of  our  own  Church  \ 
that  we  had  taken  no  pains  to  guard  against 


REV.    DR.  TURNER.  151 

the  mischiefs  which  would  flow  from  indiscrim- 
inate extemporaneous  prayer?" 

2.  The  second  objection  is  set  aside  by  deny- 
ing that  such  extravagant  results  are  "  reason- 
ably to  be  expected  from  clergymen  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Church  meeting  at  stated 
times,  under  the  simplest  of  constitutions,  for 
the  harmless  purpose  of  praying  together  with 
a  form,  of  conversing  together,  as  men  of  tol- 
erably good  sense  at  least,  on  subjects  con- 
nected with  their  profession."  The  excitement 
aimed  at  is  not  animal,  but  that  "  of  religious 
thought  and  sensibility?  The  cases  referred  to 
in  the  history  of  England  are  totally  different 
from  the  present,  and  therefore  irrelevant. 

3.  This  objection  is  like  the  first.  "As  to 
any  obligation  to  talk  spiritually,  we  remark 
that  all  conversation  is  voluntary,  being  neither 
more  nor  less  than  the  intercourse  of  friends. 
As  to  the  inference  drawn  from  ''preparing  to 
talk  spiritually,'  it  proves  too  much."  Carried 
to  its  legitimate  extent,  it  would  sanction  the 
objection  of  Quakers  to  "  our  church  service." 
'  Discussion  may  end  in  strife.'  This  "  we  can 
not  deny.  But  we  must  not  be  expected  to 
see  force  in  arguments  founded  on  possibilities. 
According  to  such  a  method  of  reasoning,  we 
ask,  what   institution,   divine   or   human,   can 


152  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

escape  censure  \  If  the  abuse  of  a  thing  is  an 
an  argument  against  its  use,  every  thing  is  over 
thrown.  Government  has  been  abused,  religion 
has  been  abused,  Christianity  itself  has  been 
abused."  The  cause  of  the  evil  is  then  shown. 
"  But  we  assume  in  our  defense  that  clergymen 
are  not  worse  than  other  men."  If  "  physicians, 
gentlemen  of  the  bar,  votaries  of  science  or  lit- 
erature, associate  for  purposes"  of  improvement, 
"  are  ministers  of  the  Gospel  the  only  set  of 
men  who  are  not  to  be  restrained  by  the  cour- 
tesies of  life  or  the  influence  of  their  religion  ?" 
If  this  be  at  all  true,  then  it  is  "  one  of  the 
strongest  reasons  in  favor  of  discussion,"  inas- 
much as  it  may  become  the  occasion  of  bring- 
ing them  to  a  better  state  of  mind. 

4.  "The  argument"  of  this  objection,  "is 
founded  in  the  apprehension  that  the  char- 
acter of  the  Association  may  change,  or  that 
it  might  be  regarded  as  a  precedent  for  the 
formation  of  others,  with  different  objects  and 
tendenciesr  This  is  barely  a  conceivable  case, 
but  destitute  of  any  probability.  The  same 
may  be  conceived  of  any  institution.  We 
must  trust  somewhat  to  the  integrity  of  man, 
and  the  superintendence  of  Providence,  to  con- 
trol such  possible  evils.  The  Bishoj^s  argu- 
ment  presumes  an  impetus  in  a  wrong  direc- 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  153 

tion.  But  "  why  should  we  take  it  for  grant- 
ed that  the  impetus  must  be  wrong?  We  ad- 
mit all  that  the  language  states.  Any  associ- 
ation will  move  with  force  in  the  direction  of 
the  impetus  given  it.  The  argument  takes  it 
for  granted  that  the  characters  of  the  mem- 
bers, giving  the  impetus,  will  be  factious."  This 
is  the  very  thing  to  be  proved.  "  The  security 
against  faction  and  all  its  baleful  evils,  lies  in 
elevating  the  clerical  character  both  in  intellec- 
tual  ability  and  personal  religion." 

5.  As  the  reply  to  the  Bishop's  remarks  un- 
der this  head  is  very  full  and  plain,  and  as  it 
avows  some  most  important  principles  which 
the  members  of  the  Association  were  prepared 
to  claim,  defend  and  act  upon,  I  think  it  best 
to  transcribe  almost  the  whole  answer. 

"  The  reasoning  is  of  this  nature.  l  Of  a 
number  of  professional  men,  a  considerable 
proportion  or  a  few,  as  the  case  may  be,  are 
of  opinion  that  certain  measures  are  beneficial, 
and  therefore  determine  to  adopt  them.  Oth- 
ers who  think  differently,  or  who,  agreeing  in 
the  beneficial  tendency  of  the  measures,  are 
nevertheless  indisposed  to  pursue  them,  object 
that  the  conduct  of  the  other  members  of  the 
fraternity  is  in  this  respect  peculiar,  that  it 
leads  to  invidious  distinctions,  etc'     Are  those 


154  AUTOBIOGKAPHY  OF 

men  who  urge  this  argument  willing  to  yield 
to  its  legitimate  consequences  ?  Who  does  not 
see  that  it  strikes  at  the  root  of  all  improve- 
ment ?  A  professor  in  a  college,  must  limit 
his  studies  to  the  measure  of  literature  re- 
quired by  his  brethren  of  the  faculty,  lest 
he  should  be  suspected  of  aiming  at  distinc- 
tion above  his  equals,  and  thus  give  rise  to 
jealousies  and  mutual  criminations.  A  clergy- 
man in  a  parish  must  preach  no  oftener  than 
those  of  his  vicinity,  must  promote  no  more 
objects  of  usefulness  than  those  which  they 
think  proper  to  engage  in,  lest  invidious  com- 
parisons should  be  made,  and  '  party  spirit  be 
engendered.'  If  one  clergyman  have  more 
ability,  more  strength — whether  corporeal  or 
mental — than  another,  he  is  not  to  use  it  in 
his  Master's  service,  lest  he  should  thereby  be- 
come distinguished  among  his  fellows,  and  4  be 
held  up'  as  possessed  of  superior  endowments. 
This,  we  think,  is  the  fair  and  natural  issue 
of  the  argument.  Let  it  be  applied  to  the 
case  of  the  first  clergyman  who  attempted 
to  raise  in  his  congregation  a  society  for  dis- 
tributing the  Scriptures  and  Book  of  Com- 
mon Prayer,  or  a  Missionary  Society,  or  a 
Bible-class,  or  even  a  Sunday-school.  If  his 
brethren  of  the  vicinity  differ  from  him  as  to 


KEV.   DR.   TURNER.  155 

any  one  of  these  objects,  the  reasoning  might 
"be  urged  with  the  same  force:  'Those  who 
engage  in  them  will  he  held  up  as  more  evan- 
gelical.' 

"There  is  one  point  advanced  under  this 
head  to  which  we  respectfully  and  earnestly 
solicit  the  attention  of  our  clerical  and  lay 
brethren.  The  principle  is  stated. as  prescrib- 
ing a  correct  line  of  conduct  for  the  clergy  to 
pursue.  It  is  comprehended  in  the  following 
sentence :  c  On  the  ministers,'  etc.,  p.  68. 

"Here  is  a  rule  of  action  for  the  clergy, 
which,  together  with  the  laws  prescribed  by 
the  Church,  (which  all  must  consider  them- 
selves bound  to  obey?)  will  never  allow  them 
to  be  at  a  loss  as  to  the  course  of  their  duty. 
Is  there  any  matter  which  the  laws  of  the 
Church  have  left  to  individual  judgment,  and 
does  a  presbyter  wish  to  know  how  to  con- 
duct himself  in  relation  to  it?  ■  He  has  only 
to  consult  *  the  wishes  and  feelings  of  a  re- 
spectable portion  of  his  brethren,  and  of  him 
who  is  set  over  them,'  together  with  the  effect 
which  the  object  in  view  may  be  supposed  by 
them  to  have  on  their  l  characters ;'  and  it  be- 
comes an  '  imperative  act  of  delicacy,  kindness, 
and  duty,  not  permitting  a  moment's  hesita- 
tion,' to  comply  with  them.     How  completely 


156  AUTOBIOGRAPHY   OF 

by  this  process  is  the  whole  course  of  minis- 
terial conduct  subjected  to  the  will  of  a  few 
individuals,  not  to  say  of  him  who  presides ; 
for  no  man  can  doubt  where,  under  the  circum- 
stances referred  to,  the l  deference'  is  to  be  shown. 
It  will  be  said,  that  the  doctrine  limits  its  ap- 
plication to  matters  '  non-essential!'  But  it  may 
be  asked,  what  is  to  be  understood  by  essen- 
tial ?  It  is  a  relative  term,  and  what  is  essen- 
tial in  reference  to  one  end  is  indifferent  with 
respect  to  another.  It  is  an  inquiry  of  more 
importance — who  is  to  decide  whether  a  mat- 
ter is  essential  or  not?  Not  the  persons  en- 
gaged in  it,  but  the  Bishop  and  such  as  choose 
to  agree  with  him.  Now  what  is  the  result 
of  such  a  system  2  Plainly  this  :  that  not  one 
step  can  be  taken  by  any  presbyter,  in  points 
where  the  Qhurch  has  left  him  free  to  act  ac- 
cording to  his  own  impressions  of  duty,  with- 
out a  liability  to  have  his  measures  reversed. 
Where  no  law  restrains,  the  opinion  of  the 
Bishop,  especially  if  supported  by  •  a  respect- 
able portion '  of  the  clergy,  is  propounded  with 
an  equal  claim  to  deference,  upon  grounds 
which  come  home  to  a  man  of  feeling  just  in 
proportion  as  his  sensibility  gets  the  better  of 
his  judgment ;  and  propounded  under  peril, 
not  of  ecclesiastical  penalties,  for  the  Church 


EEV.   DR.   TURNER.  157 

has  threatened  none,  but  of  being  held  up  to 
the  public  as  refractory  in  c  duty,'  and  '  perti- 
nacious' in  zeal.  If  a  few  ministers  of  God 
may  not  organize  themselves  into  a  society, 
not  for  the  purpose  of  a  competition  of  'pro- 
phesyings'  (so  called)  before  a  public  assem- 
bly, but  for  prayer  and  religious  conversation 
in  the  unostentatious  privacy  of  their  own 
dwellings,  without  causing  as  great  pain  to 
the  Bishop  as  any  one  c  of  the  harassing 
events  of  a  trying  Episcopate  of  eighteen 
years  has  given  him ;'  and  if,  upon  continu- 
ing the  measure  after  the  Bishop's  expression 
of  his  disapprobation,  they  are  to  be  exposed 
to  a  public  arraignment  before  the  clergy  and 
laity  of  the  Church,  it  is  difficult  to  conceive 
how  any  course  of  conduct,  be  it  ever  so  blame- 
less, may  not  become  the  subject  of  similar  ani- 
madversion." 

The  operation  of  the  principle  laid  down  by 
the  Bishop  is  then  subjected  to  two  practical 
tests,  in  order  to  illustrate  its  bearing  and  ope- 
ration.    Afterwards  the  reply  proceeds  thus : 

"  Against  such  a  principle,  therefore,  we  re- 
spectfully but  firmly  protest.  We  will  yield 
great  deference  to  the  judgments  of  those  who 
are  or  may  be  '  set  over  us  in  the  Lord,' 
whether  privately  or  publicly  expressed;  but 


158  AUTOBIOGRAPHY   OF 

we  claim  the  right,  which  the  Church  has  not 
taken  from  us,  of  examining  the  alleged  reasons 
and  forming  our  own  opinions." 

In  confirmation  of  the  view  taken  by  the 
members  of  the  Association,  of  the  meaning  of 
the  word  "  duty,"  as  intended  by  the  Bishop, 
a  passage  is  quoted  from  a  pamphlet,  which 
had  just  been  published,  entitled:  "A  Vindica- 
tion of  the  Pastoral  Letter."  Speaking  of  "  the 
deference  due  to  the  Bishop"  the  author  makes 
these  remarks :  "  Some  contend,  and  very  faith- 
fully and  uniformly  practise  upon  the  princi- 
ple, that  even  in  unessential  points  no  obe- 
dience is  due  to  him;  and  that  his  'admoni- 
tions' and  his  'judgment'  are  in  no  case,  when 
differing  from  theirs,  to  be  heeded.  Is  this  left 
free  by  the  Church  to  individual  judgment 
and  discretion  ?  What  is  the  question  of  her 
ordination-office?  'Will  you  reverently  obey 
your  Bishop  and  other  chief  ministers,  who, 
according  to  the  canons  of  the  Church,  may 
have  the  charge  and  government  over  you,  fol- 
lowing with  a  glad  mind  and  will  their  godly 
admonitions,  and  submitting  yourself  to  their 
godly  judgments  % '  And  what  is  the  answer 
of  the  person  ordained?  'I  will  so  do,  the 
Lord  being  my  helper.' " 

On  this  passage  the  comment  of  the  mem- 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  159 

bers  is  as  follows :  "  The  author  seems  to  us  to 
suppose  that  by  this  answer  the  candidate 
pledges  himself,  explicitly,  to  i  obey'  his  Bishop, 
to  '  follow '  his  l  admonitions  and  submit  to  his 
judgment.'  We  have  no  disposition  t<3  with- 
hold any  degree  of  canonical  obedience  from 
our  ecclesiastical  superior ;  and,  without  justly 
subjecting  ourselves  to  any  such  eharge,  must 
be  allowed  to  maintain,  that,  in  matters  not 
provided  for  by  any  legislative  act  of  the 
Church,  each  individual  must  determine  for 
himself  whether  any  particular  ' admonition' 
or  '  judgment '  is  '  godly,'  and  act  accordingly. 
Let  it  not  be  supposed  that,  by  denying  such 
admonition  or  judgment  to  be  i  godly,'  he 
thereby  asserts  it  to  be  ungodly.  It  may  re- 
gard an  indifferent  matter,  or  one  in  which 
there  is  evident  room  for  opposite  opinions. 
1 Every  man'  must  'be  persuaded,  in  his  own 
mind?  " 

From  the  view  which  I  have  given  of  the 
origin  and  character  of  the  Clerical  Associa- 
tion, of  the  objections  which  were  brought 
against  it,  and  of  the  tenor  of  the  reply,  it 
must  be  evident  that  the  ground  taken  by  the 
Bishop  would  give  him  an  uncontrolled  influ- 
ence, in  matters  not  provided  for,  either  by  in- 
herent Episcopal  right  or  by  legitimate  author- 


160  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

ity;  and  also  that  the  members  of  the  Asso- 
ciation were  unwilling  to  succumb  to  such  an 
unauthorized  claim.  I  do  not  doubt  that  the 
views  of  the  great  body  of  the  Episcopal 
clergy* accorded  with  those  of  "the  Defense." 
Indeed  one  of  the  most  respectable  presbyters 
in  the  Church,  who  was  afterwards  advanced 
to  the  Episcopate,  and  has,  all  his  life,  been 
classed  with  what  are  called  High-Churchmen, 
understanding  that  I  was  preparing  a  reply  to 
the  pastoral,  told  me  that  the  presbyters  in 
general  would  come  out  on  our  side.  But, 
when  the  controversy  came  to  its  height,  they 
thought  it  most  prudent,  with  a  few  exceptions, 
not  to  make  their  sympathies  public. 

The  Account  and  Defense  of  the  Association 
were  soon  followed  by  a  "  Brief  Notice  "  of  it. 
The  name  of  the  author  was  not  given,  but  it 
was  generally  ascribed  to  Bishop  Hobart.  The 
writer  considers  the  view  taken  "  of  the  nature 
of  the  ordination- vow  "  one  "  among  the  many 
extraordinary  things  in  the  Account."  To  show 
how  little  regard  he  paid  to  the  right  of  pri- 
vate judgment  in  things  indifferent,  I  quote 
the  following  passage :  u  Things  are  good,  bad, 
or  indifferent.  Under  the  two  former  are 
classed  the  things  good  or  bad  in  themselves, 
or  by  divine  or  human  prescription."     (This  is 


EEV.   DR.   TURNER.  161 

not  very  clear,  as  a  question  might  be  raised 
respecting  the  right,  bearing,  and  extent  of  the 
latter.)  "With  regard  to  these,  the  Bishop 
can  not  interfere,  except  so  far  as  legitimately 
to  enforce  their  observance,  and  in  cases  of 
doubt  to  express  his  judgment.  It  is  to  things 
indifferent  that  the  promise  of  obedience  has 
principally  reference.  In  regard  to  these  the 
promise  characterizes  the  admonition  and  judg- 
ment of  the  Bishop  as  'godly,'  making  that 
rigA^  proper,  and  a  matter  of  duty,  which  be- 
fore was  indifferent.  To  suppose  that  it  per- 
mits the  individual  to  determine  whether,  in 
matters  of  indifference,  the  judgment  and  ad- 
monition of  the  Bishop  be  godly  or  not,  is  a 
quibble  most  unworthy  of  the  sacredness  of 
the  subject.  It  nullifies  the  promise,  makes  it 
words  and  nothing  more."  Thus  every  thing, 
without  any  exception,  may  be  rightfully  and 
authoritatively  settled  for  a  clergyman,  if  it 
shall  please  his  Bishop  to  give  his  decision. 
"  Things  good  or  bad  "  come  under  the  head  of 
"divine  prescription,"  and  are,  consequently, 
settled  by  direct  divine  law.  "  Things  indiffer- 
ent "  are  made  "  matters  of  duty "  by  the  ex- 
pressed "admonition  and  judgment"  of  the 
Bishop.  The  clergyman's  obligation,  therefore, 
is  settled  for  every  thing,  unless  his   Bishop 


162  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

declines  to  interfere !  It  never  seems  to  have 
occurred  to  the  writer,  that  "the  admonitions 
and  judgments  "  of  a  Bishop  are  spoken  of,  in 
the  service,  as  "  godly,"  on  the  supposition  that 
they  would  really  be  so,  and  be  given  only  in 
cases  where  a  truly  religious  element  is  in- 
volved. No:  Episcopal  "judgment"  "makes 
what  is  indifferent,  a  duty ! "  No  wonder 
that  a  presbyter,  and  one  whose  general  theo- 
logical views  and  course  of  action  accorded 
with  the  Bishop's,  remarked  in  reference  to  this 
extravagant  claim,  that,  on  such  a  principle, 
he  might  expect  obedience,  if  he  should  re- 
quire his  clergy  to  have  all  their  books  bound 
in  black ! 

In  this  connection  the  writer  of  the  "  Brief 
Notice  "  introduces  me  by  name,  as  "  the  author 
of  the  Account,"  although  its  title-page  attri- 
butes it  to  "  the  members  of  the  Association," 
and  I  was  merely  their  agent.  "  He  does  espe- 
cially wonder  that  reasoning  which  appears  to 
him  so  palpably  sophistical,  should  deliberate- 
ly come  from  the  pen  of  a  professor  of  divinity 
in  the  Theological  Seminary ;  for  it  is  no  secret 
that  the  Rev.  Dr.  Turner  is  the  author  of  the 
c  Account,  etc.' "  Here  he  refers  directly  to  the 
Seminary,  and  speaks  of  the  mischief  which 
would  result  from  "  the  students  becoming  con- 


REV.   DE.   TURNER.  163 

verts  to  the  opinions  of  the  professor."    In  this 
connection  he  adds,  also,  the  following  note,  the 
intended  bearing  of  which  is  evident  enough : 
"  It  is  a  curious  fact  in  the  history  of  human 
nature,  in  its  religious  character,  that  those  who 
make  the   highest   pretensions   to  evangelical 
piety,  and  who  therefore  ought  to  excel  in  the 
evangelical    grace   of  humility,    often   display 
that  restlessness  under  the   influence  of  even 
lawful  authority,  that  jealousy  of  superior  sta- 
tion, and  that  extreme  solicitude  to  sink  as  low 
as  possible  its  powers,  and  to  yield  as  little  as 
possible  to  its  claims,  which  are  as  inconsistent 
with  the  lofty  feelings  of  the  high-minded  and 
independent   man,  as  with  the   lowliness  and 
meekness  of  the  Christian."      I  never  replied 
to  this  announcement  of  my  name,  and  repre- 
sentation of  my  character.     I  resolved  to  live 
out  the  odium,  without  taking  notice  of  the 
attack,  in  the  hope  that  the  feelings  of  all  con- 
cerned would  gradually  become  calmed.    I  was 
quite  willing  to  leave  those  who  knew  me  per- 
sonally, to  form  their  own  judgments  as  to  the 
applicability  of  the  description.      I  never  to 
this  day  have  regretted  the  part  I  took  in*  the 
whole  affair  of  the  Association,  and  am  still  of 
the  opinion  that  the  ground  taken  in  "  the  De- 
fense n  is  solid.     One  of  the  members,  Mr.  Sea- 


164  AUTOBIOGKAPHY   OF 

bury,  wrote,  on  his  own  account,  a  reply  to  the 
pastoral  letter,  which  I  was  informed  was  very 
full,  and,  to  use  the  author's  words,  was  "  a  re- 
view of  the  principles  and  facts  involved."    It 
was  very  particular  and  pointed,  especially  in 
reference  to  the  causes  which  gave  occasion  to 
the  rise  of  Methodism.     It  was  not  without 
much  persuasion  that  he  could  "be  induced  to 
relinquish   the   intention   of   publishing.      Dr. 
Wainwright   strongly  dissuaded    him.     I  con- 
veyed to  him  my  solicitude  on  the  subject,  and 
my  hope  that  he  would  not  issue  a  publication, 
which  might  contribute  to  continue  excitement  ; 
expressing   my  willingness   to   bear  whatever 
odium  might  attach  to  the  authorship  of  "  the 
Defense."     In  reply  he  wrote  me  a  very  kind 
letter,  in  which  he  says  that  "  a  clergyman  and 
a  layman  in  whose  judgment  he  could  confide, 
while   they  approved  entirely  of  all  that  he 
had  written,  and  were  pleased  to  speak  highly 
of  some  parts  of  it,  yet  strenuously  advised 
him  not  to  publish."     He  expresses  his  "most 
sincere  sympathy  with  me  in  the  treatment  I 
had  received."     He  did  "  not  think  the  author 
capable  of"  writing  what  he  calls,  "most  un- 
generous—  more  so  than  he  would  be  if  he 
would  leave  his  mind  to  its  native  workings." 
Of  the  truth  of  this  last  remark  I  have  no 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  165 

doubt.  Bishop  Hobart's  ardent  temperament, 
operating  upon  what  the  same  writer  calls 
"  impracticable  principles,"  and  a  consciousness 
that  he  had  often  been  unjustly  represented,  as 
disposed  to  exert  official  power  unduly,  and 
without  proper  regard  for  those  who  were 
below  him  in  ecclesiastical  position,  produced 
some  excitement,  and  induced  him  -to  use  lan- 
guage which,  both  in  its  general  strain  and 
personal  application,  could  not  be  justified. 
But  his  warm  and  affectionate  disposition  after 
a  while  resumed  its  natural  influence.  For  a 
short  time  a  coolness  marked  our  intercourse ; 
but  in  a  few  months  the  whole  matter  appa- 
rently died  away.  Each  of  us  knew  that  en- 
tire sympathy  in  all  the  details  of  ecclesiastical 
matters  was  not  to  be  expected  in  the  other, 
and  avoided  the  introduction  of  topics  which 
might  tend  to  collision. 

In  addition  to  what  I  have  here  written  on 
the  subject  of  "The  Clerical  Association,"  I 
will  add  that  some  persons  accused  its  founders 
of  the  design  of  forming  an  ecclesiastical  party, 
by  whose  influence  in  the  diocese,  Dr.  Wain- 
wright  might  be  elected  Bishop,  either  assist- 
ant or  principal,  if  any  occasion  should  arise  to 
make  an  appointment  desirable  or  necessary.  I 
can  only  say  that  I  never  heard  the  least  inti- 


166  AUTOBIOGKAPHY  OF 

mation  of  such  a  purpose  from  any  member, 
that  it  is  very  doubtful  to  me  whether  he 
would  have  been  acceptable  to  some  of  them, 
and  that  so  unworthy  a  motive  ought  not  to 
have  been  imputed  to  clergymen  of  character 
and  respectability  without  clear  proof.  Yet  I 
know  this  to  have  been  regarded  by  some  as 
the  prominent  object  of  the  Association ;  and 
more  than  twenty  years  after  the  affair,  I  heard 
the  statement  made  by  one  of  the  oldest  pres- 
byters of  Western  New- York.  Indeed,  "the 
Vindication  of  the  Pastoral  Letter  "  contains  a 
passage  which  shows  that  the  writer  was  not 
without  apprehension  that  this  Association, 
and  others  also,  supposing  them  to  be  formed, 
might  exert  such  an  elective  influence.  "  Sup- 
pose a  vacancy  in  the  £Jptscopate  of  this  Dio- 
cese should  occur,  is  it  without  the  range  of 
probability  that  an  event  so  important  and  ex- 
citing as  the  election  of  a  Bishop  would  not  be 
brought  under  consideration  in  one  or  more  of 
these  associations  ?"  I  do  not  know  who  was 
the  author  of  this  Vindication,  but  it  appears 
to  contain  internal  evidence  of  proceeding  from 
the  pen  of  the  Bishoj),  or,  at  least,  of  having 
been  subjected  to  his  iuspection  and  modifica- 
tion. 

In  the  year    1828,   Messrs.    Eastburn  and 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  167 

Schroeder,  the  former  of  whom  was  assistant 
minister  of  Christ  Church,  and  the  latter,  one 
of  those  connected  with  Trinity,  formed  an  as- 
sociation with  Mr.  Whittingham,  then  Libra- 
rian of  the  Seminary,  and  myself,  for  mutual 
improvement  in  Biblical  Literature.  We  met 
once  in  two  weeks,  when  one  of  us  read  a 
paper,  which  was  subjected  to  the -remarks  of 
the  others.  In  a  short  time,  our  critical  stock 
having  somewhat  accumulated,  we  resolved 
to  publish  a  volume,  and  in  1829  issued  from 
the  press  of  the  Carvills,  Essays  and  Disserta- 
tions in  Biblical  Literature,  octavo,  pages  567. 
With  the  exception  of  a  Life  of  Bochart  by 
Mr.  Whittingham,  the  work  consisted  of  trans- 
lations, the  most  important  of  which  are  those 
by  Mr.  Eastburn,  of  Storrs's  Dissertation  on 
the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  from  his  Opuscula, 
and  Tittmann's  Book  on  Gnosticism.*  Mr. 
Schroeder  contributed  a  translation  of  Eich- 
horn  on  the  Authenticity  and  Canonical  Au- 
thority of  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testament, 
and  also  of  a  treatise  by  John  David  Michaelis 
on  the  Study  of  the  Syriac  Language.  My 
portion  consisted  of  a  brief  sketch  of  the  his- 
tory of  Introductions  to  the  Bible,  by  Gesenius, 
and  also  the  same  author's  History  of  the  In- 

*  De  Vestigiis  Gnosticorum  in  N.  T.  qiue  sitis. 


168  AUTOBIOGEAPHY  OF 

terpretation  of  Isaiah,  translated  from  the  In- 
troduction to  his  Commentary  on  that  prophet. 
Volume  I.  remains  a  monument  of  industrious 
enterprise ;  but  it  met  with  no  success,  and  a 
second  was  never  ventured. 


EEV.   DE.   TUBNEB.  169 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

Elected  Professor  of  Hebrew  Language  in  Columbia  College — 
Lectures  in  the  College  Chapel—  Their  Publication — Discour- 
agements—  Death  of  his  Daughter  —  Translation  an'd  Pub- 
lication of  Professor  Planck's  Introduction  to  Theological 
Knowledge,  with  Notes  —  Birth  of  his  first  Son  —  Peter  G. 
Stuyvesant's  Endowment  of  a  Professorship  in  the  Semina- 
ry—  Death  of  Mrs.  Turner  —  Publication  of  "Companion  to 
the  Book  of  Genesis" — Object  of  the  Work — Criticisms  of  two 
Church  Papers. 

The  monotonous  tenor  of  my  life,  for  several 
subsequent  years,  affords  but  little  worthy  of 
notice.  In  1830,  while  efforts  were  in  progress 
to  establish  the  New- York  University,  Colum- 
bia College  thought  it  expedient  to  revive  her 
old  professorship  of  Hebrew,  which  many 
years  before  had  been  held  by  the  Rev.  Dr. 
t  Kuntze,  whom  I  have  had  occasion  to  mention, 
and  which  had  continued  vacant  since  his 
death.  Very  much  to  my  surprise,  the  choice 
fell  on  me,  and  since  that  time  I  have  enjoyed 
the  title  of  "Professor  of  the  Hebrew  Lan- 
guage and  Literature  in  Columbia  College." 
In  order  to  bring  the  subject  of  the  Professor- 
ship somewhat  before  the  public,  I  delivered, 
in  1831,  three  lectures  in  the  Chapel  of  the 
College.  They  were  afterwards  printed  in  the 
8 


170  AUTOBIOGKAPHY  OF 

Biblical  Repository,  Y  61.  I.  No.  III.  pages  491- 
530,  Andover,  1831,  under  the  title,  Clalhns 
of  the  Hebrew  Language  and  Literature.  They 
excited  very  little  interest  however,  and  I 
doubt  whether  the  number  of  the  auditors 
amounted  to  thirty  m  on  any  one  occasion,  al- 
though the  lectures  were  free  to  all.  Scarcely 
any  of  the  clergy  attended ;  but  Bishop  Hob  art 
was  regularly  present.  It  was  my  original  in- 
tention to  continue  the  course,  but  I  abandoned 
it  for  want  of  encouragement.  During  two  or 
three  winters  I  gave  gratuitous  instruction  to 
small  classes  every  Saturday  at  the  Seminary. 
The  first  class  consisted  of  Messrs.  Richard 
Cox,  Anthony  Ten  Broeck,  and  James  A.  Wil- 
liams, all  of  whom  afterwards  became  students 
of  the  Seminary  and  clergymen  of  our  Church. 
At  the  termination  of  their  attendance,  they 
kindly  presented  me  with  a  copy  of  an  edition 
of  the  Septuagint  and  Greek  Testament  in 
three  very  neat  volumes  in  eighteenmo,  with 
the  inscription :  "  To  Dr.  Samuel  H.  Turner, 
from  his  first  Hebrew  Class  in  Columbia  Col- 
lege, June  22,  1833."  As  pocket-volumes,  I 
have  found  the  work  very  convenient.  After 
a  while,  however,  when  Nordheimer  became 
known  as  a  good  Hebrew  teacher,  I  felt  it  the 
less  incumbent  on  me  to  devote  my  time  to  this 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  171 

object.  Since  then  I  have  never  been  required 
to  give  lessons  in  Hebrew,  so  that  the  profes- 
sorship has  become  a  sinecure. 

On  Saturday,  March  sixteenth,  1833,  our 
daughter  Cornelia,  whom,  we  had  fondly 
hoped,  God  had  given  us  as  a  substitute  for 
our  beloved  Julia,  was  attacked  with  inflam- 
mation of  the  chest,  and  on  the  following 
Wednesday,  the  twentieth,  went  to  join  those 
spirits  whose  "  angels  do  always  behold  the 
face  of  the  Father."  She  was  a  very  sweet 
and  lovely  child,  wanting  two  days  of  being 
eighteen  months  old.  Her  loss,  which  left  us 
with  but  one  remaining  daughter,  was  too 
deeply  felt,  both  by  her  mother  and  myself, 
to  be  expressed. 

At  several  biblical  meeting  with  the  three 
clergymen  before  mentioned,  I  had  read  por- 
tions of  a  translation  which  I  had  made  from  a 
German  work  entitled  Introduction  to  Theolo- 
gical Knowledge,  by  Dr.  G.  J.  Planck,  Profes- 
sor of  Theology  at  Gottingen.  The  parts  of 
this  work  which  I  had  selected  were  those 
which  treated  of  sacred  criticism  and  interpre- 
tation. I  was  thus  led  to  prepare  the  transla- 
tion for  publication.  I  appended  a  consider- 
able amount  of  notes,  one  of  which  compre- 
hended  an   analysis,  though  indeed  brief,  of 


172  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

Griesbach's  Prolegomena,  and  an  explanation 
of  his  critical  marks.  The  work  was  pub- 
lished by  Leavitt  and  Company  in  1834,  in 
duodecimo,  pages  306.  The  edition  was  limited 
to  seven  hundred  and  fifty  copies,  of  which 
about  thirty-five  were  sold.  The  book  was  re- 
published in  Edinburgh  as  the  fourth  volume 
of  the  Biblical  Cabinet.  With  the  exception 
of  about  seventy,  twenty  of  which  I  placed  in 
the  library  of  the  Seminary  for  the  use  of  stu- 
dents, I  gave  the  whole  edition  away  to  suc- 
cessive classes. 

I  have  nothing  of  any  interest  to  relate  until 
the  birth  of  my  first  son,  which  took  place  at 
Cheshire,  Connecticut,  in  the  house  of  his 
grandfather,  on  the  third  of  August,  1835. 
This  was  an  occasion  of  great  joy  and  thank- 
fulness. He  was  baptized  in  St.  Peter's  Church, 
in  the  village,  by  the  rector,  the  Rev.  E.  E. 
Beardsley,  and  was  called  Herbert  Beach.  The 
name  was  chosen  on  account  of  its  similarity 
to  my  own,  (after  my  father's  uncle,)  Hulbeart, 
and  its  identity  with  that  of  the  good  country 
parson,  George  Herbert,  whom  I  then  prayed 
God  that  my  child  might  resemble  in  devotion 
aud  piety. 

As  the  funds  of  the  Seminary  had  become 
considerably  enlarged,  the  Trustees  determined 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  173 

to  erect  another  building  on  the  western  part 
of  the  ground.  It  was  to  correspond  with  the 
former  in  its  general  aspect  and  construction, 
although,  it  was  to  be  a  few  feet  longer,  and 
thus  to  enlarge  a  little  the  students'  rooms, 
makino-  each  more  convenient  for  the  accommo- 
dation  of  two.  Arrangements  were  also  made 
for  better  ventilation.  The  east  end  was  to 
be  prepared  as  a  house  for  one  of  the  profes- 
sors, and,  as  the  choice  was  mine,  I  determined 
to  make  it  my  future  residence.  Not  liking 
the  construction  and  arrangement  of  the  house 
in  the  older  building,  I  endeavored  to  secure 
an  improvement.  With  a  view  to  this,  I  made 
an  offer,  through  Professor  McVickar,  to  the 
building  committee,  which  was  partly  agreed 
to,  and  thereby  the  construction  of  the  house 
became  greatly  superior  to  that  of  the  other 
two.  In  the  spring  of  1836  I  moved  into  it, 
and  have  resided  there  ever  since. 

At  a  stated  meeting  of  the  Trustees,  held 
August  fourteenth,  1835,  Mr.  Peter  G.  Stuy- 
vesant  made  an  offer  of  twenty-five  thousand 
dollars,  to  found  a  professorship,  on  the  condi 
tion  of  his  being  allowed  to  nominate  the  pro 
fessor,  subject  to  the  approbation  of  the  Trus- 
tees. The  generous  offer  was  gratefully  ac- 
cepted, and   Mr.   Stuyvesant,  on   the   twenty- 


174  AUTOBIOGEAPHY  OF 

first  of  September,  1835,  nominated  "the  Rev. 
Francis  L.  Hawks,  D.D.,  Rector  of  St.  Thomas's 
Church  in  the  city  of  New- York,  as  Professor 
of  the  '  St.  Mark's  in  the  Bowery,'  Professor- 
ship of  Ecclesiastical  History."  Afterwards, 
however,  at  a  special  meeting  held  November 
twenty-fifth,  of  the  same  year,  "Dr.  Hawks 
having  previously  declined  the  nomination," 
"  The  Rev.  William  R.  Whittingham,  a  pres- 
byter of  the  diocese  of  New- York,"  was  sub- 
stituted. At  the  same  meeting  a  communica- 
tion was  received  from  South-Carolina,  signed 
by  the  Bishop  and  four  other  clergymen,  pro- 
posing as  professor  in  the  same  department 
the  Rev.  Samuel  F.  Jarvis,  D.D.  At  a  special 
meeting,  held  January  thirteenth,  1836,  called 
for  the  purpose  of  acting  on  Mr.  Stuyvesant's 
nomination,  it  was  unanimously  approved  of, 
and  Mr.  Whittingham  was  declared  to  be  the 
professor.  He  immediately  entered  upon  his 
duties,  retaining  also  the  office  of  librarian,  to 
which  he  had  been  before  appointed,  and  ap- 
propriating either  the  whole  or  a  large  part 
of  the  salary  of  one  hundred  dollars  to  some 
student  who  assisted  him  in  discharging  the 
duties  of  the  office.  A  few  years  after,  Mr. 
Whittingham  was  elected  Bishop  of  the  Church 
in  Maryland,  and,  after  his  consecration  to  the 


REV.  DR.  TURNER.  175 

office,  he  resigned  his  professorship  on  Novem- 
ber first,  1840,  and  the  next  day  Mr.  Stuy- 
vesant  nominated  as  his  successor  "the  Rev. 
John  D.  Ogilby,  Professor  of  Ancient  Lan- 
guages in  Rutgers  College,  in  the  State  of 
New- Jersey,  and  a  presbyter  of  the  diocese." 
A  special  meeting  was  held  on  the  second  of 
December  in  the  same  year,  when  the  nomina- 
tion was  unanimously  approved  of,  and  Mr. 
Ogilby  became  professor. 

At  the  triennial  meeting  of  the  Board,  held 
October  fourteenth,  1841,  "the  Rev.  Benjamin 
I.  Haight,  a  presbyter  of  the  diocese  of  New- 
York,  was  duly  nominated  by  a  vote  of  the 
Board  to  the  Professorship  of  Pastoral  Theol- 
ogy and  Pulpit  Eloquence;"  and  at  a  special 
meeting  held  on  the  thirtieth  of  the  following 
November,  the  nomination  was  unanimously 
approved.  On  the  third  of  December,  1841, 
Mr.  Haight  accepted  the  professorship.  He 
was  at  the  same  time  rector  of  All  Saints' 
Church,  and  continued  to  retain  this  position. 
In  June,  1842,  the  mode  of  conducting  com- 
mencements was  altered.  The  reading  of  dis- 
sertations by  the  Senior  class  was  dispensed 
with,  and  the  present  arrangement  adopted. 

I  have,  for  the  sake  of  convenience,  thrown 
together  the  previously  mentioned  matters  re- 


176  AUTOBIOGEAPHY  OF 

lating  to  the  Seminary.  I  must  now  go  back 
to  the  most  melancholy  event  which  marks  my 
domestic  life. 

It  had  been  our  usual  custom  to  spend  most 
of  the  summer  vacations  with  my  father-in-law 
and  his  daughters  at  Cheshire.  There  we  en- 
joyed ourselves  with  pleasant  rural  scenes  and 
social  gratifications.  I  always  pursued  some 
regular  course  of  Hebrew  or  German  study, 
and  of  general  reading,  and,  on  occasions  of  a 
temporary  vacancy  in  the  parish,  supplied  the 
church,  and,  when  there  was  a  rector,  assisted 
him,  and  sometimes  other  clergymen  in  the 
neighboring  towns,  in  the  duties  of  the  desk 
and  pulpit.  Thus  the  vacations  were  passed 
very  agreeably,  and  I  hope  usefully ;  and  the 
pure  country  air  was  conducive  to  our  physical 
health.  In  the  season  of  1839  it  was  thought 
best  to  remain  at  home,  and  we  spent  but  a  few 
days  in  Connecticut.  Early  in  August  my  dear 
wife  was  attacked  with  dysentery,  and,  after  a 
course  of  severe  suffering  from  the  disease,  she 
gave  birth  to  a  second  son  on  the  fourteenth. 
He  was  baptized  on  the  third  of  September  at 
home  by  the  Rev.  Hugh  Smith,  D.D.,  Rector  of 
Sfc.  Peter's,  and  named  Joseph,  after  my  father 
and  brother,  and  Mason  after  the  latter  and 
my  mother.     The  child's  mother,  alas !  did  not 


REV.   DR.  TURNER.  177 

stand  as  a  sponsor,  her  place  "being  supplied  by 
my  sister  Eliza.  She  had  gone  to  join  "  the 
spirits  of  the  just  made  perfect."  The  very 
severe  attack  of  that  painful  disease  was  too 
much  even  for  her  strong  constitution  to  bear 
up  under,  and  on  the  second  of  September  her 
soul  left  its  earthly  tenement,  and  winged  its 
course  to  that  better  world,  where  sickness  and 
pain  and  sorrow  are  alike  unknown.  Some 
days  before  her  death,  she  had  become  appa- 
rently better ;  and  I  could  not  but  feel  encour- 
aged to  cherish  the  faint  and  lingering  hope 
which  I  had  indulged,  that  my  earnest  prayers 
might  be  answered,  and  that  she  might  yet  re- 
cover to  bless  my  declining  years  with  the 
many  satisfactions  arising  from  her  presence, 
and  to  aid  me  in  bringing  up  our  children  in 
the  nurture  and  admonition  of  the  Lord.  But 
Deo  aliter  visum.  What  I  then  felt  and  thought 
I  shall  not  attempt  to  describe.  A  little  of  this 
you  may  find  in  the  memorandum  inserted  in 
the  Bible  before  mentioned.  But  the  feeling  has 
grown  with  the  growth  of  years  and  become 
habitual,  and  although  I  have  tried  hard  to 
be  resigned  to  the  will  of  God,  knowing  from 
reasonable  faith  that  it  is  wise  and  good,  and 
even  merciful,  yet  unable  to  see  by  my  weak 
understanding  the  full  reason  for  her  removal, 
8* 


178  AUTOBIOGEAPHY  OP 

ever  since  her  death  I  have  felt  alone  in 
the  world,  though  surrrounded  by  the  kindest 
friends,  and  blessed  with  the  most  attentive 
relatives  and  children.  She  is  gone  with  whom 
I  was  united  in  heart  and  soul,  with  whom  I 
had  lived  more  than  thirteen  years  in  harmony 
and  love,  uninterrupted  by  one  unkind  word  or 
feeling.  Her  departure  has  left  a  void  which 
neither  time  nor  the  respect  and  aifection  of 
others  can  fill.  She  was  most  highly  respect- 
ed and  dearly  beloved  by  all  who  were  well 
acquainted  with  her ;  and  although  you  never 
can  fully  know  the  loss  you  have  sustained  by 
her  death,  you  may  be  able  somewhat  to  ap- 
preciate the  character  of  your  mother,  from  the 
estimate  in  which  her  memory  is  held  by  those 
who  knew  her  best.  Truly  God's  "judgments 
are  unsearchable,  and  his  ways  past  finding 
out."  The  remains  of  my  beloved  wife  were 
deposited  in  a  vault  in  St.  Mark's  church-yard. 
In  a  few  months  I  had  these,  along  with  those 
of  our  two  children,  removed  to  her  family 
burial-ground  at  Cheshire.  In  my  last  will 
and  testament,  I  have  directed  my  own  to  be 
placed  in  the  same  consecrated  ground,  in  the 
hope  of  a  joyous  resurrection. 

After   I   had   partially  recovered   from   the 
overwhelming  shock  occasioned  by  my  heavy 


REV.   DR.  TURNER.  179 

domestic  calamity,  I  resolved  to  endeavor  to 
devote  my  leisure  time  to  some  useful  employ- 
ment connected  with  my  position  in  the  Semi- 
nary. I  therefore  began  to  revise  some  notes 
on  the  book  of  Genesis  which  I  had  written  in 
an  interleaved  copy  of  Michaelis's  Hebrew 
Bible,  and  had  used  in  lectures  to  the  students. 
A  thorough  revision  was  necessary,  and  the 
whole  matter  had  to  be  examined  and  written 
anew,  and  many  additional  sources  of  informa- 
tion investigated  and  compared.  The  result 
was  embodied  in  a  work  entitled  Companion  to 
the  JBook  of  Genesis,  which  was  published  in 
the  spring  of  1841,  by  "Wiley  and  Putnam, 
octavo,  pages  405.  It  consisted  of  an  analysis 
of  this  first  book  of  the  Pentateuch,  and  a 
commentary  which,  on  the  more  important 
portions,  was  considerably  extended,  the  divi- 
sions in  both  being  into  sections,  according  to 
the  respective  subjects.  An  introduction  of 
sixty-six  pages  discusses  the  documentary  the- 
ory and  other  matters  of  interest  and  import- 
ance. 

The  treatment  which  this  publication  receiv- 
ed from  two  of  our  Church  papers  was  remark- 
able. In  my  remarks  on  the  account  of  the 
fall,  in  the  third  chapter  of  Genesis,  and  parti- 
cularly on  the  agent  in  the  temptation,  I  had 


180  AUTOBIOGEAPHY  OF 

stated  at  some  length,  the  three  prominent 
views.  On  the  second  and  third  I  had  de- 
clined expressing  positive  opinion  respecting 
the  point  whether  the  tempter,  whom  I  con- 
sidered as  identical  with  the  devil,  employed 
as  his  instrument  the  animal  called  serpent, 
or  whether  this  form  of  reptile  was  designed 
to  express  allegorically  the  cunning  and  insid- 
ious nature  of  the  tempter.  In  either  view, 
the  reality  of  the  facts  of  the  temptation  and 
the  fall  remained  unaffected.  I  had  expressed 
the  opinion  that  the  paradisiacal  trees  were  to 
be  understood  literally,  and  that  the  prohibi- 
tion of  the  fruit  of  one  of  them  was  intended 
to  try  and  improve  the  character  of  our  first 
parents.  In  a  periodical  then  in  course  of  pub- 
lication at  Flushing,  an  article  appeared,  in 
which  the  writer  attempted  to  amuse  his  read- 
ers by  speaking  of  the  girls'  samplers  in  for- 
mer years,  on  which  it  was  the  fashion  to  de- 
lineate pictures  of  the  narrative  by  working 
serpents  with  apples  in  their  mouths.  This  spe- 
cimen of  what  looks  like  the  littleness  of  infi- 
del sneering,  was  published  in  a  Church  peri- 
odical !  The  writer  intended,  of  course,  to 
ridicule  my  silly  superstition. 

A  short  time  before  the   publication  of  this 
article,  an  editorial  notice  of  my  book  appear- 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  181 

ed  in  a  Church  paper  published  in  this  city. 
While  Mr.  Whittingharn  was  a  professor  in 
the  Seminary,  a  difficulty  had  arisen  between 
him  and  the  editor,  occasioned  by  some  re- 
marks on  a  former  editorial,  entitled :  "  On  the 
Salvability  of  the  Heathen."  These  remarks 
were  printed  in  a  Philadelphia  Church  paper, 
contrary  to  the  intention  of  the  writer,  who 
had  marked  them  private.  As  the  editor  of 
this  latter  paper  had  introduced  them  as  com- 
ing from  the  Seminary,  the  resident  professors 
were  treated  by  the  New- York  periodical  in  no 
very  courteous  way.  For  a  time,  Dr.  Wilson 
and  myself  declined  taking  any  part  in  the  dis- 
cussion. After  the  appearance,  however,  of  sev- 
eral articles,  one  or  two  of  which  bore  the  signa- 
ture of  "  A  Trustee,"  we  sent  a  communication, 
stating  that  we  had  no  connection  with  the  re- 
marks which  had  appeared  in  the  Philadelphia 
paper,  and  showing  to  what  extent  we  had  ex- 
pressed our  opinions  on  the  original  article. 
As  I  had  gone  somewhat  beyond  Dr.  Wilson 
in  this  point,  I  laid  myself  the  more  open,  as 
opportunity  should  arise,  to  animadversion  and 
censure.  Consequently,  when  my  book  appear- 
ed, it  was  attacked  extravagantly,  and  with 
utter  want  of  that  discrimination  which  might 
have  been  reasonably  expected.     An  uninform- 


182  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

ed  reader  would  naturally  have  supposed  that 
I  had  written  something  tending  to  subvert  the 
authority  of  revealed  religion.  The  following 
citation  is  sufficient :  "  We  do  not  question  the 
right  of  any  man  to  despise  the  consent  of  the 
Fathers,  and  spend  his  life  in  "balancing  the 
conflicting  opinions  of  modern  .critics  in  mat- 
ters on  which  the  Fathers  are  agreed ;  nor  do 
we  question  his  right  to  deny  the  Mcene  faith  ; 
nor,  in  fine,  his  right  to  abjure  the  Christian 
religion  and  to  advocate  infidelity."  "Was  ever 
any  thing  more  extraordinary  !  Not  to  recog- 
nize consent  of  the  Fathers  on  multitudes  of 
points  on  which  they  differ  from  each  other 
nearly  as  much  as  modern  writers,  is,  with 
some,  almost  a  species  of  infidelity.  It  were 
well  if  such  persons  would  take  the  trouble  of 
ascertaining  in  what  matters  the  Fathers  are 
agreed,  and  in  what  they  vary  from  each  other. 
But  they  ignore  the  principle  involved  in  the 
divine  words :  "  We  speak  that  we  do  know, 
and  testify  that  we  have  seen." 

The  portion  of  my  book  to  which  particular 
reference  is  made,  is  the  very  same  which  had 
been  contemptuously"  objected  to  in  the  Flush- 
ing paper  as  bordering  on  the  superstitious  and 
the  silly.  In  the  view  of  the  New- York  writer, 
it  presented  evidence  of  neology.     In  a  pam- 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  183 

phlet  which  I  found  necessary,  in  1845,  to  pub- 
lish in  my  own  defense,  I  introduced  this  re- 
mark in  reference  to  the  opposite  views  of  su- 
perstition and  neology  entertained  by  the  two 
writers  alluded  to :  "  To  be  dashed  on  the  rocks 
of  Scylla  by  the  one,  and  consigned  by  the 
other  to  the  gulf  of  Charybdis,  is  hard.  Per- 
haps the  reader  who  is  not  altogether  under 
the  influence  of  that  literary  autocracy  which 
is  apt  to  show  itself  in  all  sorts  of  periodicals, 
may  be  inclined  to  think  that  the  author  has 
steered  his  bark  sufficiently  in  the  middle  of 
the  dangerous  strait  to  avoid  the  mischief 
threatened  from  both  sides." 

This  pamphlet,  which  I  introduced  with  a 
motto  taken  from  the  first  line  of  Juvenal,  as 
being  particularly  appropriate  to  the  repeated 
attacks,  direct  and  indirect,  upon  me,  which 
thus  far  I  had  passed  over  without  reply,  was 
not  answered  nor  in  any  way  noticed  by  the 
periodical.  I  have  introduced  the  matter  here, 
merely  because  of  its  intimate  and  necessary 
connection  with  the  narrative  relating  to  the 
Seminary,  and  the  action  of  the  Trustees  and 
the  House  of  Bishops;  of  all  which,  I  shall 
now  give  a  brief  account. 


184  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 


CHAPTER    IX. 

History  of  the  Seminary — New-York  City  an  Unfavorable  Loca- 
tion— Effects  of  the  Doctrines  of  the  Oxford  Tracts  and  their 
kindred  Usages  —  Conflicting  Views  with  regard  to  them  — 
Suggestion  of  the  Examining  Committee  —  Dissent  of  Drs. 
Anthon  and  Smith,  in  the  Committee  —  Professor  Turner's 
Reply  to  the  Implied  Censure — The  true  Place  and  Value  of 
the  Early  Fathers  in  the  Exposition  of  Scripture — A  Proposi- 
•  tion  to  the  Trustees — Resolutions  of  the  South-Carolina  Con- 
vention—  Unfavorable  Rumors  in  regard  to  the  Seminary — 
Report  of  the  South-Carolina  Committee — Singular  Questions 
propounded  to  the  Faculty — Episcopal  Visitation  of  the  Semi- 
nary—  Professor  Turner's  Answers — » Communication  from 
Bishop  Mcllvaine — Christmas  Novelties — Apostasies  to  Rome 

—  Professor  Turner's  Resistance  to  Novelties  —  The  Attempt, 
of  "The  Churchman"  to  Ridicule  his  Published  Statement  of 
Facts — "  Records  of  Councils" — Its  Ignorance  and  Indecency 

—  Resolutions  of  the  Visiting-Bishops  —  The  Real  Value  of 
their  Opinion — Romanism  among  the  Students — Secret  Plans 
for  Propagating  it — Action  of  the  Faculty — Expulsions  from 
the  Seminary — The  Expelled  Students  Ordained  in  New -York, 
North-Carolina  and  Maryland  —  Further  Apostasies  to  Rome 
— Influences  Outside  of  the  Seminary — The  Errors  and  Cant 
Phrases  of  the  Times  —  Characters  most  easily  led  astray  — 
The  Responsibility  of  those  who  Recommend  Candidates  for 
Orders  —  Resignation  of  Professors  Wilson  and  Moore — Pro- 
fessor Ogilby's  Death  —  Appointment  of  Professor  Johnson 
and  Mahan. 

The  principal  object  which  I  have  in  *dew 
in  preparing  this  sketch  requires  me  to  revert 
again  to  matters  connected  with  the  Seminary. 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  185 

The  Institution  had  been  conducted  with  as 
much  success  as  could  reasonably  be  expected, 
taking  into  consideration  its  position  and  con- 
nections. I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that 
its  reestablishment  in  the  city  of  New- York 
always  aj)peared  objectionable  to  me,  though  I 
do  not  think  it  expedient  to  state  my  reasons 
in  detail.  It  was  removed  here  from  New- 
Haven,  and  became  a  respectable  and-  useful 
school  of  theological  instruction.  The  num- 
ber  of  its  pupils  gradually  increased,  until 
from  twenty-four,  the  total  amount  of  the  three 
classes  in  1825,  it  reached,  in  eleven  years,  its 
climax  of  eighty-seven.  It  continued  for  a 
long  time  to  retain  respectable  numbers,  aver- 
aging about  seventy-three  or  seventy-four.  The 
course  of  instruction  and  the  action  of  the  pro- 
fessors were  approved  of,  and  the  examinations 
were  reported  as  highly  respectable.  But  the 
introduction  into  the  Church  of  the  Oxford 
Tracts,  with  the  ultra  views  which,  in  some 
minds,  they  either  originated  or  confirmed,  and 
extended  in  others,  and  the  determined  oppo- 
sition to  them  which  sprang  up  among  those  of 
moderate  and  Low-Church  principles,  had  its 
influence  on  trustees,  professors,  and  students. 
The  desire  to  eliminate  the  word  Protestant 
from  our  Prayer-Book  and  other  Church  au- 
thorities, and  to  substitute  Reformed  Catholic; 


186  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

the  disposition  to  multiply  outward  religious 
services,  and  to  perform  them  with  peculiar 
ceremonies  not  before  used  in  our  Church,  in- 
cluding also  the  chanting  of  the  Psalter,  which 
became  much  more  common  than  formerly; 
the  increased  fondness  for  crosses,  plain  or 
extravagantly  ornamented ;  the  eagerness  to 
appeal  to  the  fathers,  as  the  legitimate  test  of 
true  doctrine  and  exposition,  and  even  by  men 
who  could  not  read  a  sentence  in  the  original ; 
all  showed  a  growing  tendency,  to  append  to 
what  had  heretofore  been  regarded  as  the 
true  rule  of  faith,  and  a  sufficient  exhibition  of 
sound  devotion,  excrescences,  which  the  body  of 
wise  and  judicious  men  had  generally  regarded, 
not  only  as  unnecessary,  but  practically  inju- 
rious. The  existence  in  various  degrees  of 
such  a  feeling,  and  the  consequent  reaction  it 
naturally  produced,  are  necessary  to  be  kept  in 
view,  in  forming  a  right  judgment  of  the  move- 
ments now  to  be  referred  to. 

The  first  intimation  I  have  found  of  any 
thing  like  an  inclination  to  censure,  growing 
out  of  the  feeling  above  mentioned,  appears  in 
the  Report  of  the  Examining  Committee  for 
1843.  In  reference  to  my  examination  of  the 
Middle  class  on  some  of  the  Ej}istles,  they 
"  suggest  that  attention  be  particularly  paid  to 
the  early  fathers  of  the  Church,  both  as  wit- 


KEV.  DE.  TUKNER.  187 

nesses  of  how  the  sacred  Scriptures  of  the 
New  Testament  were  understood  by  those  to 
whom  they  were  first  committed,  and  as  also 
themselves  well  fitted,  from  their  character, 
position,  and  other  circumstances,  to  be  useful 
aids  to  interpretation."  One  of  the  members 
of  this  committee  afterwards  became  a  pervert 
to  the  Eomanists.  Two  others,  Drs.  Anthon 
and  Smith,  "  dissented  from  this  portion  o^the 
Keport,  on  the  ground  that  "it  contained,  in 
their  judgment,  an  incorrect  view  of  the  true 
authority  of  the  fathers,  no  distinct  statement 
of  who  are  the  early  fathers,  and  seemed  to 
them  unjust  to  the  professor  in  that  depart- 
ment, from  their  experience  of  his  perfect 
fidelity." 

At  the  next  meeting,  held  in  June,  1844, 
the  Faculty  added  to  their  general  report  a  spe- 
cial communication,  under  my  signature.  In 
it  I  requested  "  directions  from  the  Trustees  in 
reference  to  a  portion  of  the  last  Annual  Re- 
port," just  quoted.  I  expressed  my  "regret 
that  the  Committee  should  have  thought  it 
their  duty  to  incorporate  this  '  suggestion '  in  a 
report  made  to  the  Trustees,  and  according  to 
ordinary  usage  intended  for  publication,  with- 
out any  previous  conference  with  the  professor, 
whose  supposed  omission  appears  to  be  there- 


188  AUTOBIOGEAPHY  OF 

by  censured."  I  went  on  to  say  that  "  a  suita- 
ble measure  of  attention  to  the  early  fathers" 
had  been  paid ;  that  "  an  examination  of  them 
in  reference  to  the  interpretation  of  Scripture, 
in  order  to  be  conducted  usefully,  would  re- 
quire a  degree  of  learning  and  a  faculty  of  dis- 
crimination, which  young  men,  entering  on  a 
course  of  divinity,  can  not  in  general  be  sup- 
pos^l  to  possess."  I  stated  my  willingness,  if 
the  Trustees  would  "  so  direct,  to  devote  a  part 
of  the  time  now  employed  in  explaining  the 
sacred  Scriptures,  to  a  course  of  lectures  on 
the  principles  and  method  of  exposition  of  the 
early  fathers ; "  I  referred,  however,  to'  the  ex- 
tensiveness  of  the  subject,  and  the  very  limited 
time  "  appropriated  to  the  department  of  Bib- 
lical Learning  and  the  Interpretation  of  Scrip- 
ture," which,  "  during  the  entire  period "  of 
the  course,  did  "not  exceed  one  hundred  and 
twenty -five  "  full  days.  "  Whether  it  be  expe- 
dient to  take  a  single  day  from  this  compara- 
tively small  amount  of  time  now  employed  in 
the  direct  critical  and  exegetical  study  of  the 
Sriptures,  in  order  to  devote  it  to  the  early 
history  of  Interpretation,  the  Trustees,  in  their 
wisdom,  will  decide."  To  this  communication 
no  reply  was  made.  The  report,  presented  at 
the  same  meeting,  of  the  Committee,  who  at- 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  189 

tended  the  intermediate  examination,  tlien  held 
in  the  month  of  February,  contains  also  an- 
other expressive  hint,  in  the  words  following : 
"In  the  exegesis  of  the  sacred  text,  great  at- 
tention should  be  paid  to  the  numerous  false 
interpretations  which  have  been  given.  The 
student  who  is  preparing  for  the  ministry  of 
the  Church  ought  to  be  familiarly  acquainted 
with  all  the  phases  of  error.  This  is  well ;  but 
at  the  same  time  it  would  seem  to  be  all-ini- 
portant  that  he  should  not  be  left  to  the  exer- 
cise of  his  own  private  judgment  as  to  what 
the  truth  is.  The  Church  professes  to  teach 
catholic  doctrine.  This  should  be  the  standard 
by  which  all  human  opinions  must  be  tried: 
the  sooner  the  student  is  put  in  possession  of, 
and  taught  to  apply  this  standard,  the  better." 
Thus  the  doctrine  of  the  Church  of  England, 
that  the  Scriptures  are  the  sole  rule  of  faith, 
was  set  aside,  and  "  the  Church,"  or  its  "  catho- 
lic doctrine,"  substituted  in  its  place.  The  na- 
ture of  the  examination  and  instruction  alluded 
to,  may  be  inferred  from  this  language  of  the 
Committee,  which  consisted  of  only  three  mem- 
bers. (See  Proceedings,  page  402.)  A  few  years 
afterwards  one  of  them  joined  the  Church  of 
Rome. 

At  the  same  meeting  certain  resolutions,  pass- 


190  AUTOBIOGKAPHY  OF 

ed  by  the  Convention  of  South-Carolina,  having 
a  reference  to  some  rumors  unfavorable  to  the 
Seminary,  were  laid  before  the  Board.  They 
were  referred  to  a  committee,  "  to  report  in  the 
fullest  manner "  at  the  ensuing  triennial  meet- 
ing, which  was  held  on  the  thirtieth  of  Septem- 
ber following.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Trapier  of  South- 
Carolina,  a  member  of  the  committee,  made  a 
report  containing  a  full  statement  of  their  pro- 
ceedings, which  had  been  conducted,  partly 
at  meetings  held  in  June  during  the  annual 
session  of  the  Board,  and  partly  during  an  ad- 
journed meeting  held  in  the  latter  part  of  Sep- 
tember. The  rumors  related  to  instructions  said 
to  have  been  given  respecting  the  practice  of 
infant  communion  in  the  primitive  Church,  and 
the  heretical  character  of  the  Church  of  Rome. 
The  statements,  and  extracts  of  letters  contain- 
ing them,  were  ordered  to  be  entered  on  the 
minutes,  and  may  be  found  on  pages  419,  420. 
The  report  contains  also  certain  questions  or 
"  heads  of  inquiry  proposed  to  the  jDrofessors," 
together  with  the  answers  thereto.  The  last 
question  would  not  have  come  with  much  con- 
sistency from  those  Trustees  whose  names  are 
appended  to  the  report,  just  referred  to,  of  the 
intermediate  examination.  It  runs  thus :  "  Do 
the  teachings  of  the  professors  inculcate  that 


EEV.  DR.  TURNER.  191 

holy  Scripture  is  the  supreme  rule  of  faith,  as 
is  taught   iu  the  sixth   article  of  the  thirty- 
nine?"      The    concluding   paragraph   of    "the 
Draft  of  the  Keport  of  the  Board  of  Trustees 
to  the  General  Convention"  contained  the  fol- 
lowing :   "  The  Trustees  feel  assured  that  the 
General  Theological  Seminary  has  never  been 
in  a  more  healthful  condition  than  it  is  at  the 
present   time."     These   words,  "the   Rev.  Mr. 
Trapier  moved  to   strike   out."      The  motion 
was  sustained  by  a  vote  of  twenty-five,  includ- 
ing   Bishops    Brownell,   Hopkins,    Mcllvaine, 
Kemper,  and  Eastburn.     It  was  negatived  by 
a  vote  of  twenty-six  members,  among  whom 
were    Bishops   Onderdonk,   Doane,   Ives,   and 
Gadsden.      "  Bishop    Mcllvaine    then    moved 
that  the  Secretary  be  ordered  to  lay  before  the 
House  of  Bishops  all  the  documents  connected 
with  the  proceedings  of  the  Committee  on  the 
resolutions  of  the  South-Carolina  Convention, 
which  have  been  read  to  this  Board, — and  the 
same  was  negatived."     (See  the  Proceedings  of 
The  Stated  Triennial  Meeting,  page  442.)    The 
unwillingness  of  a  majority  of  the  Board  to  lay 
open  before  the  official  visitors  all  the  circum- 
stances connected  with  the  "rumors  unfavor- 
able to  the  Seminary,"  is  evident..    It  is  not, 
therefore,  to  be  wondered  at,  that  a  minority 


192  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

presented  to  the  following  General  Convention 
"  a  brief  statement,"  containing  the  expression 
of  "their  dissent  from  the  said  report."  This 
was  signed  by  Bishops  Hopkins,  Mcllvaine, 
and  Eastburn,  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Anthon,  and 
Messrs.  Barnwell  and  Neufville,  and  by  Mr.  P. 
G.  Stuyvesant. 

If  the  statements  just  made  are  duly  consid- 
ered, it  will  not  appear  at  all  surprising  that, 
immediately  on  the  assembling  of  the  House 
of  Bishops  at  the  next  General  Convention 
held  in  Philadelphia,  early  in  October,  Bishop 
Chase  presiding,  the  state  of  the  Seminary  was 
brought  up  for  consideration.  As  they  were 
officially  visitors  of  the  Institution,  "to  see 
that  the  instruction  and  discipline  be  duly  car- 
ried out,"  it  became  their  duty  to  exercise 
their  legitimate  authority.  A  set  of  forty  ques- 
tions was  therefore  prepared  by  them,  a  copy 
of  which  was  transmitted  to  each  of  the  pro- 
fessors, with  three  additional  ones  addressed  ex- 
clusively to  the  Professor  of  Ecclesiastical  His- 
tory, "requesting  answers  at  their  earliest  con- 
venience." I  never  was  more  amazed  than 
when  reading  some  of  these  questions,  and 
occasionally  the  thought  occurred  to  me  that 
the  document  could  not  be  genuine.  Some  of 
the   questions   appeared  irrelevant;   others   to 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  193 

imply  wliat  was  wholly  improbable;  others, 
again,  to  have  been  proposed  simply  in  order 
to  counterbalance  what  had  been  previously 
admitted,  so  that  one  class  might  neutralize  the 
other.  I  was  hardly  able  to  persuade  myself 
that  they  could  have  originated  with  such  a 
body.  The  following  language  was  used  of 
them  in  the  Churchman,  not  long  after  the  visi- 
tation, which  took  place  immediately  after  the 
Convention :  "  If  the  Pope,  the  Oxford  Tracts, 
the  father  of  modern  neology,  and  Calvinism 
had  been  present  in  person  or  in  effigy ;  and  if 
the  questions  had  been  elicited  from  the  Right 
Rev.  Fathers  by  their  several  fears  of  each,  and 
had  then  been  shaken  in  a  hat,  and  drawn  out 
for  numerical  arrangement,  they  could  not  have 
had  less  coherence  and  mutual  dependence."  I 
will  quote  a  few,  in  illustration  of  what  I  have 
said,  without  having  the  least  knowledge  of  the 
individual  Bishops  who  suggested  them : 

"11.  Are  the  works  of  Toplady,  of  Thomas 
Scott,  and  John  Newton,  and  Blunt  on  the 
Articles,  or  any  of  them,  used  as  text-books,  or 
publicly  or  privately  recommended  to  the  stu- 
dents of  the  Seminary  V  It  is  not  to  be  sup- 
posed that  any  member  of  the  House  of  Bish- 
ops could  have  thought  that  Dr.  Wilson,  the 
professor  under  whose  supervision  the  topics 
9 


194  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

alluded  to  would  properly  come,  was  likely  to 
use  such  Ibooks ;  and  certainly  no  other  profes- 
sor could  have  beefl  intended.  The  next  ques- 
tion solves  the  phenomenon:  "  12.  Are  the 
works  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Pusey,  Messrs.  Newman, 
Keble,  Palmer,  Ward,  and  Massingberd,  or  any 
of  them,  used  as  text-books,  or  publicly  or  pri- 
vately recommended  in  the  Seminary  V  Mas- 
singberd had  been  used  for  a  short  time, 
though  entirely  unworthy  of  such  a  distinction. 
It  had  never  been  adopted  as  a  text-book.  The 
one  question  is  evidently  a  set-off  to  the  other. 
So  also  the  28th  29th,  and  30th  in  contradis- 
tinction to  the  31st  and  3 2d :  "  Are  the  Oxford 
Tracts  adopted  as  text-books  in  the  Seminary  ? 
Are  they  publicly  or  privately  recommended  to 
the  students  %  Is  Tract  90  used  as  a  text-book, 
or  (so)  recommended  V  On  the  other  side : 
"  Is  Calvinism,  comprehending  what  are  known 
as  the  l  five  points,'  (so)  taught  or  recommend- 
ed ?  Is  any  one  of  the  iive  points  (so)  taught 
or  recommended  V  Again :  "  41.  What  has 
the  Professor  of  Ecclesiastical  History  taught 
concerning:  the  heretical  character  of  the  'Rom- 
an  Church  ?  42.  Concerning;  the  Constantino- 
politan  creed  V  These  are  followed  by  :  "  43. 
Is  the  doctrine  of  '  limited  atonement,'  and  of 
'  reprobation,'  taught  in  the  Seminary  f '     I  do 


REV.    BR.   TURNER.  195 

not  believe  that  any  member  of  the  House  of 
Bishops  had  the  least  idea  that  such  doctrines 
were  taught.  Once  more  • "  36.  Are  the  su- 
perstitious  practices  of  the  Romish  Church, 
such  as  the  use  or  worship  of  the  crucifix,  of 
images  of  saints,  and  the  invocation  of  the 
blessed  Virgin,  and  other  saints,  adopted,  or 
publicly  or  privately  recommended  in  the  Sem- 
inary?" To  outweigh  which,  follows:  "37. 
Is  the  German  system  of  rationalism — that  is, 
of  rejecting  every  thing  mysterious  in  the  doc- 
trines and  institutions  of  the  Gospel,  and  mak- 
ing human  reason  the  sole  umpire  in  theology, 
adopted,  or  (so)  recommended  in  the  Semi- 
nary ?  38.  Are  German,  or  other  authors  who 
supj3ort  that  system,  adopted  as  text-books,  or 
(so)  recommended  as  guides  of  theological 
opinion?"  As  disclosing  the  same  feeling 
which  gave  rise  to  these  two  questions,  I  add 
the  14th :  "  Has  it  been  publicly  or  privately 
taught  in  the  Seminary,  that  any  portion  of  the 
sacred  narrative  in  the  book  of  Genesis  is  in 
the  nature  of  a  myth,  or  is  merely  or  principal- 
ly allegorical  ?"  Subsequently  I  mentioned  to 
one  of  the  Right  Reverend  gentlemen  who  had 
proposed  some  similarly  objectionable  questions 
to  the  Committee  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  my 
impression  that  certain  of  the   Bishops'  ques- 


196  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

tions  were  introduced  just  to  stand  in  contra- 
distinction to  certain  others ;  and  his  reply 
was — "exactly  so*!"  The  inquiries  last  cited 
evidently  refer  to  what  had  been  ungenerously 
and  untruly  stated  in  reference  to  my  comment, 
in  the  Companion  to  Genesis,  on  the  fall  of 
man. 

It  will  be  sufficient  for  me  to  give  the  sub- 
stance of  some  of  the  answers  in  my  own  com- 
munication. To  state  those  of  the  other  pro- 
fessors does  not  come  within  my  purpose.  To 
the  14th,  just  cited,  I  replied  as  follows :  "  Not 
to  my  knowledge.  So  far  as  relates  to  myself, 
very  particular  pains  have  been  taken  to  show 
the  fallacy  of  the  system  referred  to  ;  and  this 
I  have  also  done  in  my  Companion  to  the  Book 
of  Genesis."  My  answer  to  the  37th  and  38th 
was  designedly  full.  I  intended  it  to  compre- 
hend a  reply  to  the  charge  of  rationalistic  ten- 
dency which  had  been  advanced  after  the  pub- 
lication of  the  volume  before  mentioned,  and 
which  seemed  to  give  shape  and  character  to 
the  two  questions.  I  shall  transcribe  it  in  full : 
"  Presuming  that  these  questions  are  intended 
to  bear  principally  on  my  department,  the 
Bishops  will  pardon  me  if  I  express  my  great 
surprise  that  they  should  have  been  proposed. 
If  there  be  any  one  thing  for  which  I  feel  con- 


REV.    DR.   TURNER.  197 

scious  that  I  merit  the  approval  of  the  Trustees 
and  the  Church,  it  is  for  the  uniform  opposition 
which  I  have  made  to  the  whole  system  refer- 
red to,  whether  appearing  in  Germany,  England, 
or  America.  The  book  before  mentioned,  (in 
the  reply  to  the  14th  question,)  contains  satis- 
factory evidence  of  this,  and  exposes  some  mat- 
ters in  the  Hebrew  Lexicon  of  Gesenius,  even 
where  the  student  could  hardly  suppose  a  ra- 
tionalistic tendency  to  show  itself.  The  Intro- 
duction to  the  Old  Testament,  (Jahn's,)  pub- 
lished several  years  ago  by  one  of  your  Right 
Reverend  body  and  myself,  though  it  is  very 
far  from  being  what  I  could  wish,  abounds 
with  similar  proofs;  and,  indeed,  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Home  incorporated  a  portion  of  it  with  his 
own  Introduction  for  this  very  reason,  and 
wrote  to  me  on  the  subject,  at  the  same  time 
presenting  me  with  a  copy  of  his  work  as  cm 
acknowledgment.  In  my  instruction  to  the 
classes,  I  have  particularly  guarded  them 
against  the  whole  theory  of  rationalism,  most 
especially  as  regards  the  interpretation  of  pro- 
phecy and,  miracles,  considering  it  as  neither 
more  nor  less  than  disguised  infidelity.  With 
such  views  of  it,  I  of  course  reply  to  the  ques- 
tions very  decidedly  in  the  negative." 


198  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

111  addition  to  this  most  extraordinary  col- 
lection of  questions  proposed  by  the  House 
of  Bishops,  I  received  a  communication  from 
Bishop  Mcllvaine,  to  understand  the  purport 
of  which  it  is  necessary  to  mention  a  matter 
which  might  under  other  circumstances  proper- 
ly be  passed  over.  It  is  trifling  in  itself,  but 
as  indicatino;  a  state  of  feeling  in  the  minds  of 
some  students,  and  as  remarked  upon  by  one 
of  our  Church  papers,  and  noted  in  an  English 
publication,  it  assumes  a  degree  of  importance 
which  otherwise  could  not  attach  to  it. 

The  day  before  Christmas,  1843,  I  happened 
to  go  into  the  long-room,  which  was  used  as  a 
Chapel,  to  see  how  it  was  dressed.  My  atten- 
tion was  arrested  by  a  wooden  cross,  about 
two  feet  high,  placed  on  the  front  railing  of 
the  chancel,  ornamented  partly  by  evergreens, 
and  partly  by  artificial  flowers.  As  rumors 
of  certain  practices  accordant  with  those 
of  the  Church  of  Rome  being  in  use  by  some 
students,  had  already  been  considerably  circu- 
lated, and  in  very  exaggerated  forms;  and  as 
one  student,  who  in  all  probability  entered 
with  Romanist  tendencies,  had  lately  left  the 
Seminary  and  joined  that  Church,  I  thought 
it  highly  inexpedient  to  suffer  a  novelty  like 
this  to  pass  unnoticed.     I  considered  also,  that, 


REV.   DR.  TURNER.  199 

as  the  Seminary  was  an  institution  of  the 
whole  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the 
United  States,  it  would  be  wrong  to  allow 
what  would  reasonably  be  regarded  as  objec- 
tionable by  a  large  proportion  of  that  body; 
and  believing,  moreover,  that  the  axiom  obsta 
principiis  was  particularly  applicable  in  the 
present  instance,  the  next  day,  I  required  the 
cross  to  be  removed,  thereby  exercising  a  pow- 
er which  I  believed  to  be  vested  in  the  Dean, 
by  the  statutes.  The  same  night,  Christmas- 
eve,  the  Seminary  -  bell  was  rung  at  twelve 
o'clock,  to  the  surprise  and  annoyance  of  the 
neighborhood;  and  some  of  the  students,  with- 
out asking  permission  of  the  Dean  or  Faculty, 
held  a  midnight  service  in  the  Chapel.  I  was 
afterwards  told  that  they  had  placed  a  paper 
representation  of  an  illuminated  star  at  one 
end  of  the  room,  and  that  in  the  course  of  the 
service  it  got  on  fire,  and  had  to  be  taken  hast- 
ily to  the  basement,  to  prevent  mischief.  In 
the  same  note  which  directed  the  removal  of 
the  cross,  I  stated  my  objections  to  the  mid- 
night service,  and  mentioned  the  entering  into 
the  Chapel  not  by  the  door,  the  key  of  which, 
by  a  mere  chance,  happened  that  night  to  be 
in  my  possession.  I  think  it  proper  to  add 
that  three  of  the  students,  then  belonging  to 


200  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

the  Seminary,  afterwards  connected  themselves 
with  the  Church  of  Rome. 

I  gave  Bishop  Mcllvaine  an  exact  account  of 
this  matter  in  my  reply,  and  consequently  it 
became  public.  A  Church  paper  made  it  a 
topic  of  contemptuous  ridicule,  taking  a  one- 
sided view,  without  attributing  any  weight  to 
the  feeling  and  tendency  which  it  betrayed. 
And  in  the  year  1846  a  work  was  published 
in  London  under  the  title,  Records  of  Coun- 
cils, which  refers  to  the  General  Convention  of 
1844  as  the  "Council  of  Philadelphia"!  In  a 
note,  the  writer  remarks  on  this  affair  in  such 
a  very  slighting  way  as  to  show  plainly  the 
tenor  of  his  own  ecclesiastical  views.  He 
speaks  of  "  an  amusing  case  being  brought  be- 
fore the  Synod.  It  seems  that  the  Dean  of 
the  Faculty  for  the  year,  one  Samuel  H.  Tur- 
ner, had  been  much  scandalized  by  the  sight 
of  a  wooden  cross,  about  two  feet  high,  deco- 
rated with  flowers  and  evergreens  on  the  chan- 
cel-rails of  the  Chapel.  This,  /  understand,  is 
not  an  uncommon  custom  in  the  churches  of 
the  United  States ;  but  Mr.  Turner,  it  seems, 
preferred  to  connect  the  observation  of  the 
pious  custom,  in  this  particular  case,  with  the 
Popish  feelings  and  predilections  which  lie 
imagined  to  be  then  rife   in  the   Seminary." 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  201 

(Page  487.)  The  general  accuracy  of  the  work 
may  be  judged  of  by  those  who  are  acquaint- 
ed with  the  facts  of  this  case,  thus  caricatured. 
The  author  of  the  Hecord,  who  regarded  the 
"  charge  of  Popish  views  and  practices  having 
been  favored,  as  absurd"  was  utterly  ignorant 
of  what  he  undertook  to  express  an  opinion 
upon.  In  his  Preface  he  acknowledges  his 
obligation  to  some  clergymen  in  this  country 
for  information  respecting  the  state  of  the 
Church !  • 

After  the  replies  of  the  several  professors  to 
the  Episcopal  inquiries  had  been  considered, 
the  House  of  Bishops  held  a  meeting  on  the 
thirtieth  of  October,  at  the  Seminary.  On  this 
occasion  an  additional  portion  of  correspond- 
ence was  brought  forward  and  acted  on.  The 
next  day  a  second  meeting  was  held;  and  after 
Morning  Prayer  in  the  Chapel,  certain  resolu- 
tions were  adopted,  and  "  the  House,  after  en- 
gaging in  devotional  exercises,  conducted  by 
the  presiding  Bishop,  adjourned  sine  die." 
Two  of  the  resolutions  are  as  follows: 

"  Hesolved,  That  the  Bishops,  and  visitors, 
having  visited  the  Seminary  and  inspected  the 
same,  do  not  find  in  any  of  its  interior  arrange- 
ments any  evidences  that  superstitious  or 
Romish  practices  are  allowed  or  encouraged  in 

the  Institution. 

9* 


202  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

"Resolved,  That  the  Bishops  deem  the  publi- 
cation of  the  questions  of  the  Bishops  and  the 
answers  of  the  professors  the  most  appropriate 
reply  to  the  current  rumors  respecting  the  doc- 
trinal teaching  of  the  Seminary." 

With  regard  to  the  latter,  I  am  compelled 
to  say,  that  such  questions,  with  the  answers 
which  they  would  naturally  produce,  appear  to 
me  to  afford  a  very  insufficient  reply  to  the  ru- 
mors alluded  to.  Such  an  investigation  was 
quite  inadequate.  As  to  the  former,  I  never 
heard  of  the  private  rooms  of  the  students 
having  been  inspected  by  the  Bight  Beverend 
visitors.  I  presume,  therefore,  that  the  "  inte- 
rior arrangements"  mentioned,  relate  to  those 
of  the  Chapel,  Library,  and  Lecture-rooms.  A 
short  time  after  the  "Episcopal  visitation,"  I 
heard,  from  a  source  to  be  entirely  relied  on,  of 
its  having  been  said  by  one  student,  that  "if 
they  had  come  into  his  room  he  could  have 
shown  them  a  crucifix."  It  will  be  evident 
from  what  is  yet  to  be  narrated  in  this  connec- 
tion, that  the  inquiries  and  the  visitation  were 
practically  of  little  or  no  benefit.  And  indeed 
this  might  have  been  expected  from  the  char- 
acter of  both. 

The  Episcopal  visitation  was  made  in  Octo- 
ber, 1844.    About  two  months  and  a  half  after- 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  203 

wards,  suspicions  fell  on  some  students,  not 
only  of  Romish  tendencies  and  views,  but  also 
of  having  made  direct  efforts  to  propagate 
these  among  their  fellow-pupils.  A  brief  no- 
tice of  the  matter  is  necessary,  in  order  to  pre- 
sent a  correct  view  of  the  state  of  the  Semina- 
ry at  this  time.  I  shall  give  it,  as  far  as  prac- 
ticable, in  the  statement  made  by  the  Faculty, 
in  reply  to  a  resolution  communicated  to  them 
by  the  Trustees,  at  their  annual  meeting,  in 
June,  1845,  requesting  information  in  reference 
to  discipline,  which  had  been  exercised  on  cer- 
tain of  the  students  referred  to.  Dr.  Wilson, 
who  was  then  Dean,  drew  it  up ;  and  this  is 
sufficient  warrant  for  its  accuracy.  (See  Pro- 
ceedings, page  439,  et  seq.) 

"In  consequence  of  voluntary  information 
communicated  by  several  students  to  Professor 
Ogilby,  he  presented  on  the  23d  of  December, 

1844,  distinct  charges  against  and  ■ ■ 

individually.  On  these  charges  trials  took 
place  on  the  seventh  of  January,  1845;  and 
the  witnesses  produced  were  examined,  and 
the  parties  heard.  The  Faculty  then  adjourn- 
ed until  the  afternoon  of  the  following  day, 
when  a  decision  was  intended  to  be  given. 
But  in  consequence  of  intimations  from  sev- 
eral students  on  the  morning  of  that  day,  that 


204  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

much  more  evidence  existed  than  had  "been 
produced  on  those  trials,  and  also  from  the 
tenor  of  some  of  the  testimony  which  had  been 
given,  it  was  deemed  proper  to  pursue  the 
inquiries  farther;  and  to  request  the  students 
(except  the  supposed  parties  concerned)  to 
give  to  the  Faculty  such  information  as  they 
possessed  and  could  communicate.  A  general 
inquiry  was  accordingly  commenced  into  the 
state  of  the  Seminary  in  reference  to  the  sub- 
jects of  complaint,  and  was  continued  until  the 
13th  of  January,  (Sunday  excepted,)  when  the 
whole  evidence  was  completed." 

In  the  course  of  the  investigation  some  evi- 
dence appeared  of  a  designed  cooperation  on 
the  part  of  certain  students  to  effect  the  above- 
mentioned  purpose.  On  this  point,  however, 
the  Faculty  were  divided  in  opinion,  although 
the  majority  regarded  it  as  sufficiently  sustain- 
ed. To  my  mind  much  of  the  evidence  ad- 
duced coincided  with  this  view  of  the  case. 
Still  I  thought  that  the  facts  attested  might  be 
explained  on  the  ground  of  occasional  unex- 
pected coincidence,  without  resorting  to  a  sup- 
position, which  every  member  of  the  Faculty 
would  have  felt  relieved  by  being  able  to  re- 
ject. In  resolving  on  the  exercise  of  discipline 
the  Faculty  did  not   act  "on  the  ground  of 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  205 

theological  error  simply.     They  considered  the 
cases  only  as  the  conduct  of  the  parties  affect- 
ed the   relation  in  which  they  stood  as  stu- 
dents in  the  Seminary,  and  not  as  candidates 
for  orders ;  in  which  character  they  were  sub- 
ject only  to  the  ecclesiastical  authority  of  the 
proper  diocese.     The  principle  on  which  the 
Faculty  proceeded  was,  that  the  students  charg- 
ed acted  contrary  to  their  duties  and  engage- 
ments to  the  Institution  ;  that  they  not  merely 
themselves   embraced   theological    errors,    but 
promulgated  and  maintained  them  within  the 
Seminary;  that  they  held  themselves,  and  in- 
stilled into  the  minds  of  other  students,  prin- 
ciples of  a  theological  system  adverse  to  that 
of  our  Church,  and  to  the  course  of  instruction 
prescribed  by  the  House  of  Bishops  and  the 
Trustees  of  the  Seminary ;  that  they  thus  pre- 
possessed their  own  minds  and  those  of  others 
with  error  before  they  could  in   the   regular 
course  of  study  engage  in  the  proper  examina- 
tion of  those  controverted  principles,  thereby 
greatly   diminishing   the   full   benefit   of   that 
course  to  themselves  and  others ;  that  this  con- 
duct tended  to  create  parties  among  the  stu- 
dents with  excitement  of  feeling,  thus  disturb- 
ing the    harmony  of  the  Seminary — an  effect 
which  had,  in  fact,  been  in  part  produced,  and 


206  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

threatened  to  increase,  unless  a  check  was  ap- 
plied ;  that  it  exposed  the  Institution  itself  to 
the  imputation  of  maintaining  and  instilling 
erroneous  doctrines  and  encouraging  supersti- 
tious practices,  and  thus  injured  its  reputation 
and  usefulness ;  that  there  was  danger  of  its 
opening  a  way  to  extraneous  influence  through 
their  instrumentality."  These  were  the  reasons 
which  governed  the  Faculty. 

The  direct  result  of  the  investigation  was  as 
follows :  "  On  the  thirteenth  of  January,  1845, 

the  Faculty  resolved  that  and ,  both 

of  the  Middle  class,  cease  to  be  members  of 
the  Seminary,  and  that  they  be  directed  to 
withdraw  from  the  Institution."  I  was  in  favor 
of  a  sentence  of  suspension  during  the  plea- 
sure of  the  Faculty.  I  preferred  this  decision 
to  that  of  entire  separation,  because  I  thought 
it  would  afford  the  persons  concerned  an  op- 
portunity of  showing  regret  for  the  course 
they  had  pursued,  and  of  an  endeavor  to  pro- 
duce among  their  brethren  a  suitable  reaction 
in  favor  of  evangelical  truth.  The  other  two 
students  against  whom  charges  had  been  made 
were  subjected  to  admonition.  This  was  ad- 
ministered with  suitable  brevity  and  charac- 
teristic mildness  by  the  Dean. 

A  week  after  the  admonition  had  been  given, 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  207 

one  of  the  two  withdrew  from  the  Seminary, 
and  sent  a  letter  to  the  Dean  and  Faculty  stat- 
ing his  reasons  for  so  doing,  which  were  as  fol- 
lows :  1.  Because  the  Faculty  had  shown  disre- 
gard to  the  rights  of  candidates ;  2.  Because 
by  remaining  he  would  appear  to  acquiesce  in 
the  justice  of  the  sentence ;  3.  Because  the 
grounds  taken  by  the  Faculty  deprive  him  of 
reasonable  liberty  of  volition  and  freedom  of 
discussion;  4.  Because  the  means  adopted  by 
the  Faculty  to  obtain  evidence  are  in  his  opin- 
ion unworthy  and  dishonorable  ;  to  which  he 
added  other  considerations  reflecting  on  that 
body  with  pointed  injustice.  This  communica- 
tion, under  the  name  of  the  student,  was  pub- 
lished in  the  Churchman.  The  letter  and  its 
publication  show  the  young  man's  want  of  pro- 
per respect  for  his  elders  in  years  and  superi- 
ors in  authority.  And  yet  I  must  do  him  the 
justice  to  say  that  his  usual  behavior  mani- 
fested a  kind,  gentlemanly  and  Christian  de- 
portment, such  as  the  circle  of  society  in  which 
he  had  been  accustomed  to  move,  and  the  edu- 
tion  which  he  had  received,  might  have  led  one 
to  expect.  After  some  time  he  was  ordained 
in  Brooklyn.  He  was  in  delicate  health,  and 
survived  only  a  few  years.  One  of  the  stu- 
dents, whose  connection  with  the  Seminary  had 


208  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

been  severed,  afterwards  removed  to  North- 
Carolina,  where  he  was  ordained.  The  other, 
who  had  merely  been  admonished,  continued  a 
member  of  the  Institution  until  April,  when, 
his  health  not  being  good,  he  withdrew  to  Con- 
necticut. Subsequently  he  was  ordained  there. 
The  other  student  who  was  obliged  to  leave 
was  a  candidate  in  Delaware.  His  Bishop  wrote 
to  me  for  a  copy  of  the  notes  I  had  taken  of 
the  late  investigation.  This  request  I.  declined 
complying  with,  as  the  Faculty  had  agreed  not 
to  give  publicity  to  the  evidence.  I  offered 
him,  however,  a  copy  of  that  particular  portion 
which  concerned  his  own  candidate.  On  ex- 
amining it,  he  immediately  excluded  him  from 
his  list.  Soon  afterwards  the  young  man  re- 
moved to  Maryland,  where  in  due  time  he 
became  a  candidate  again,  was  ordained,  and 
settled  in  the  diocese. 

The  evidence  showed,  that  there  were  stu- 
dents whose  views  in  some  points  were  Romish, 
and  whose  intention  was,  after  entering  upon 
parochial  duties  within  our  Church,  to  endeav- 
or gradually  to  lead  their  congregations  along 
with  themselves  to  the  Church  of  Rome.  Wild 
and  fanatical  project,  with  which  it  were  ab- 
surd to  imagine  that  the  people  could  have 
been  made  to  cooperate !     Yet  so  deeply  had 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  209 

unsound,  Jesuitical  principles  insinuated  them- 
selves into  the  mind,  in  defiance  of  morality 
and  common-sense.  There  is  good  reason  to 
believe  that  the  principles  and  tendency  were, 
in  most  cases,  brought  into  the  Seminary  by 
students  when  admitted,  and,  in  all  others,  that 
they  found  a  congenial  soil,  when  attempts  were 
made  to  introduce  them.  Three  young  men, 
who  were  members  of  the  Seminary  about  the 
period  referred  to,  afterwards  connected  them- 
selves with  the  Romanists. 

When  the  history  of  the  Seminary  about 
this  period,  both  as  regards  some  of  its  in- 
ternal elements  and  many  of  the  outward 
agencies  which  were  brought  to  bear  upon 
it,  is  calmly  and  dispassionately  examined,  the 
conclusion  must  force  itself  on  every  thought- 
ful mind,  that  the  difficulties  may  be  traced  to 
the  natural  influence  of  the  Oxford  Tracts. 
Apart  from  their  generally  deeper  religious 
feeling,  the  principles  which  characterize  these 
publications  harmonize  very  much  with  those 
that  distinguished  the  Jacobite  party  in  the 
Church  of  England  during:  the  time  of  the 
Stuarts ;  although  it  may  be  that,  in  some  re- 
spects, and  as  exhibited  in  a  few  of  their  pro- 
ductions, as,  for  instance,  No.  90,  the  approx- 
imation to  Roman  Catholic  error  is  closer.    It  is 


210  AUTOBIOGEAPHY  OF 

therefore  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  men, 
whose  views  on  disputed  topics  of  discipline 
or  doctrine  were  what  are  usually  known  as 
ultra  High-Church,  should  have  eagerly  em- 
braced them,  and,  in  many  cases,  without  any 
clear  view  of  their  nature  and  tendency.  They 
were  decidedly  anti-sectarian,  anti-Low-Church, 
and  that  was  enough  to  enkindle  the  glow  of 
affection.  Such  feeling,  in  a  greater  or  less 
degree,  influenced  a  considerable  number  of 
our  clergy,  and  one  or  two  members  of  the 
Faculty,  who  had  always  been  known  as  High- 
Churchmen,  participated  in  it.  Several  of 
the  young  men,  too,  who  entered  the  Seminary, 
had  imbibed  the  same  spirit,  and  were  ready  to 
affirm  statements  of  doctrine,  of  the  meaning 
of  which  they  had  no  clear  idea.  The  phrase- 
ology and  the  supposed  doctrines  were  thought 
to  be  Church-like,  and  the  propriety  and  cor- 
rectness of  both  were,  perhaps  unconsciously, 
assumed.  The  cant  in  common  use  among  a 
certain  class  of  persons  was :  "  The  Church 
says  so,  and  that's  enough."  If  asked,  "What 
do  you  mean  by  the  Church  ? — where  has  she 
said  so?— how  do  you  know  that  such  is  her 
meaning  V — the  questions  were  regarded  with 
suspicion,  as  if  they  implied  setting  up  private 
judgment  against  the  Church.     Thus,  as  has 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  211 

always  been  the  case  in  such  controversy,  the 
thing  to  be  proved  was  taken  for  granted. 

Bnt  although  there  certainly  were  students 
who  ran  into  extremes  on  points  of  this  sort, 
and  were  sustained  in  certain  of  their  notions 
somewhat  by  officials  within  the  Seminary,  and 
in  a  much  greater  degree  by  clergymen  with- 
out, yet  such  views  did  not,  either  at  that  pe- 
riod or  any  other,  characterize  the  mass,  and 
unqualified  charges  have  often  been  advanced 
against  the  institution  which  were  unfounded. 
The  truth  of  this  remark  will  appear  to  any 
impartial  man  who  will  examine  the  catalogues 
for  a  few  years,  trace  the  ministerial  history  of 
the  respective  members  of  the  several  classes, 
and  become  acquainted  with  their  ecclesiastical, 
parochial,  and  religious  standing.     It  is  unfair, 
ungenerous,  and  indeed  dishonorable,  to  select 
a  few  names  noted  for  ultra  views,  extraordi- 
nary procedure,  and  want  of  practical  success 
in  the  ministry,  and   exhibit   them  as  a  sam- 
ple of  Seminary  training,  ignoring  at  the  same 
time    their   fellow-students,   who    have    spent 
years  of  laborious,  useful  activity  in  building 
up  the    Church,  it  may  be  in  retired  places, 
where  their  daily  efforts  were  unknown,  except 
in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  those  who  were 
blessed   by  their  ministrations.     On  the  one 


212  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

hand,  the  Seminary  must  not  pretend  to  claim 
the  merit  of  all  the  valuable  labors  of  her  best 
sons  ;  nor,  on  the  other,  is  she  chargeable  with 
the  weakness,  inefficiency,  erroneous  or  mis- 
taken views,  or  conduct,  of  young  men  who  en- 
tered her  walls  under  the  influence  of  a  particu- 
lar theological  system,  contemptuously  rejected 
the  instructions  which  might  have  served  to 
clear,  in  some  degree,  the  misty  atmosphere  of 
their  minds,  and  passed  out  of  the  Institution 
radically  unchanged.  The  real  fault  is  farther 
back,  and  may  be  found  in  the  right  answer  to 
to  the  all-important  and  suggestive  question: 
"Who  recommended  these  youths  as  apt  and 
meet  to  exercise  the  ministry  to  the  glory  of 
God  and  the  good  of  the  Church  V  Under 
the  influence  of  what  genial  suns,  of  what  gen- 
tle showers,  of  what  balmy  dews,  did  these  sap- 
lings grow,  so  as  to  supply  suitable  materials 
for  ministerial  Mercuries  ? 

On  the  twenty-eighth  of  June,  1848,  Dr. 
Wilson  sent  to  the  Trustees  a  resignation  of 
his  professorship,  which  he  withdrew  the  next 
day,  at  "  the  earnest  and  unanimous  wish  of  the 
Board."  In  1850,  however,  he  renewed  the  act, 
and  the  resignation  was  accepted.  So  also  was 
Dr.  Moore's,  which  was  tendered  at  the  same 
time.      The    Trustees   passed   suitable    resolu- 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  213 

tions  in  relation  to  both,  and  appointed  them 
emeriti  professors  in  their  respective  depart- 
ments. The  students  gave  evidence  of  regard 
for  their  venerated  teachers  by  presenting  to 
each  a  beantifnl  quarto  Bible,  also  to  the  Sem- 
inary Chapel  a  very  handsome  silver  chalice 
and  paten  for  the  communion,  inscribed  with 
their  names.  At  a  special  meeting,  held  No- 
vember fifth,  1850,  Dr.  Samuel  R.  Johnson  was 
appointed  successor  to  Dr.  Wilson.  The  same 
year  the  Rev.  Mr.  Houghton  was  appointed  in- 
structor in  Hebrew  by  the  Standing  Committee, 
who  had  been  "  requested  to  supply  such  in- 
struction as  may  be  needed  in  the  elements  of  , 
the  language."  (See  Proceedings,  November 
fifth  and  September  twenty-fourth,  pages  668 
and  655.) 

Early  in  1851,  Dr.  Ogilby,  whose  health  had 
lono*  been  failing,  died  in  Paris.  On  the  tenth 
of  September  the  Rev.  Milo  Mahan,  A.M.,  was 
appointed  his  successor. 


214  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 


CHAPTER    X. 

Serious  Personal  Injury — Record  of  Publications — "Essay  on  our 
Lord's  Discourse  at  Capernaum" — "Biographical  Notices  of 
Jewish  Rabbis" — Dr.  Murdock's  opinion  of  the  Work — "Spir- 
itual Things  Compared  with  Spiritual" — Reply  to  Strictures 
upon  the  Publication — Two  Discourses  on  the  Rule  of  Faith — 
A  Volume  on  Prophecy — The  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  in  Greek 
and  English — The  Epistle  to  the  Romans  in  Greek  and  Eng- 
lish'— The  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians  in  Greek  and  English — The 
Epistle  to  the  Galatians  in  Greek  and  English. 

Early  in  October,  1853,  on  crossing  the 
North  River  in  the  Jersey  City  ferry-boat,  I 
had  a  very  violent  fall,  and  injured  my  right 
thigh  so  severely  that,  for  a  day  or  two,  the 
physician  was  doubtful  whether  some  fracture 
had  not  taken  place.  Happily,  this  was  not 
the  case.  For  more  than  a  month  I  could  not 
move  without  great  difficulty.  After  that  time, 
however,  I  was  able,  with  occasional  omissions, 
to  attend  the  classes  in  my  study.  Late  in  the 
winter  I  became  strong  enough  to  walk  out  a 
little  by  the  aid  of  crutches,  the  use  of  which  I 
could  not  abandon  until  the  end  of  the  next 
summer.  From  the  effects  of  this  fall  I  have 
never  been  entirely  relieved. 


REV.   DR.  TURNER.  215 

The  day  after  my  accident,  at  the  Trien- 
nial Meeting  of  the  Trustees,  held  on  the  elev- 
enth of  the  month,  Bishop  Potter  of  Penn- 
sylvania proposed  to  raise  the  salaries  of  the 
Professors  of  Systematic  Divinity  and  Ecclesi- 
astical History  to  $2000  each,  and  "  in  consid- 
eration of  long,  laborious,  and  inadequately 
paid  services,"  (see  Proceedings,  October,  1853, 
page  843,)  to  raise  mine  to  $2500.  Originally 
it  was  $1000,  after  the  removal  of  the  Semina- 
ry from  New-Haven  $1500,  to  which,  on  the 
erection  of  a  building,  a  residence  therein  was 
added.  The  expenses  of  housekeeping,  which 
for  several  years  had  been  steadily  advancing, 
made  an  addition  to  the  salaries  not  only  desir- 
able, but  necessary. 

I  now  go  back  a  few  years  to  give  an  account 
of  some  publications  which  I  had  caused  to  be 
issued  after  that  on  Genesis. 

During  the  summer  of  1844,  it  was  told  me, 
by  an  intelligent  and  well-educated  student 
from  the  Diocese  of  Maine,  that,  during  a  visit 
which  he  had  lately  made  at  West-Point,  he 
was  surprised  to  find  some  Episcopalians,  who 
had  been  very  favorably  impressed  by  Dr.  (af- 
terwards Cardinal)  Wiseman's  Lectures  on  the 
Real  Presence.  I  was  thus  led  to  examine  the 
book,  and  finding  that  it   abounded  with  un- 


216  AUTOBIOGEAPHY  OF 

sound  reasoning  and  interpretation,  and  con- 
tained some  misstatements  of  facts,  indicating 
extraordinary  want  of  knowledge  and  atten- 
tion, as  to  the  particulars  concerned,  I  under- 
took to  snow  its  inconsistencies  and  errors, 
and  at  tlie  same  time  to  prepare  an  analysis 
and  exposition  of  our  Lord's  Discourse  at  Ca- 
pernaum, which  the  Cardinal  had  misappre- 
hended, and  to  present  the  reader  with  the 
views  on  this  portion  of  St.  John  which  had 
been  given  by  the  fathers  of  the  first  three 
centuries,  and  some  of  the  earliest  and  lead- 
ing divines  of  the  Reformed  Church  of  Eng- 
land. The  result  of  this  investigation  was  pub- 
lished in  1845,  under  the  title :  Essay  on  our 
Lord's  Discourse  at  Capernaum,  recorded  in 
the  sixth  chapter  of  St.  John,  12 mo,  pp.  158; 
to  which  in  1851  I  added  a  short  appendix. 

As  illustrative  of  the  feeling  which  existed 
in  some  minds  in  reference  to  my  theological 
views,  and  the  kind  of  instruction  known  to 
be  given  by  me  in  the  Seminary,  I  will  quote 
the  language  which  was  applied  to  this  Es- 
say, in  a  note  appended  to  a  sermon  publish- 
ed by  the  Reverend  gentleman,  to  whom  the 
author  of  the  Record  of  Councils,  before  men- 
tioned, acknowledges  himself  indebted  for  in- 
formation respecting  the  state  of  the  Church 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  217 

in  this  country.  (See  page  201.)  He  repre- 
sents the  interpretation  of  John  6  as  "  a  com- 
paratively novel  and  neological  exposition,  put 
forth  to  supplant  the  teaching  of  the  Catholic 
Church  on  the  holy  mystery  of  the  body  and 
blood  of  Christ." 

In  studying  Jewish  Commentaries,  I  had  been 
in  the  habit  of  committing  to  paper  transla- 
tions of  certain  portions,  especially  such  as 
seemed  to  be  particularly  important  to  Christ- 
ian biblical  students.  After  some  time  I  un- 
dertook to  translate  entire,  the  exposition  given 
by  their  most  distinguished  writers  of  some 
select  portions  of  the  prophets,  especially  of 
Isaiah,  together  with  a  few  passages  from  the 
Targums.  To  these  I  added  some  selections 
from  the  Jad  and  More  Nevochim  of  Mai- 
monides.  To  all  these  I  appended  a  few  notes 
and  appropriate  introductions.  Short  biograph- 
ical notices  of  the  authors,  whose  works  afford- 
ed the  material  for  translation,  preceded  the 
selected  portions.  This  volume  was  issued  in 
1847,  under  the  following  title :  Biographical 
Notices  of  some  of  the  most  Distinguished  Jew- 
ish Babbies,  and  Translations  of  Portions  of 
their  Commentaries  and  other  Works,  with  il- 
lustrative Introductions  and  Notes.  Stanford 
&  Swords.  12 mo,  1847,  pp.  245.  While  study- 
10 


218  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

ing  these  Rabbinical  productions,  I  employed 
myself  in  preparing,  from  lexicographical  au- 
thorities, a  glossary  of  such  words  as  either  do 
not  occur  in  the  Hebrew  Bible,  or  not  with  the 
later  Jewish  meaning.  Connected  with  the 
Glossary  was  a  large  table  of  abbreviations,  se- 
lected chiefly  from  the  work  of  Buxtorf.  In  the 
preface  to  the  Notices,  etc.,  I  pledged  myself 
to  publish  the  Glossary  and  Abbreviations,  pro- 
vided "  this  little  volume  should  be  fortunate 
enough  to  secure  a  patronage  sufficient  to 
meet  the  expense  of  its  publication."  I  did 
hope  to  add  also  the  original  selections  in 
Rabbinic.  However,  I  have  not  yet,  in  four- 
teen years,  been  required  to  redeem  the 
pledge ;  and  subsequent  various  occupations 
have  made  me  rather  rusty  in  this  sort  of 
knowledge. 

As  I  had  formed  a  slight  acquaintance  with 
two  or  three  Jewish  gentlemen  who  were  some- 
what familiar  with  the  original  works  of  their 
own  literati,  I  sent  them  copies  of  my  book. 
From  one,  who  occasionally  acted  as  reader  in 
a  synagogue,  I  received  a  very  courteous  note 
in  Hebrew.  In  the  midst  of  no  little  Oriental 
laudation,  he  expressed  his  dissent  from  some 
of  my  statements.  My  answer,  which  was  of 
course  in  English,  reciprocated   his  courtesy, 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  219 

and  offered  to  consider  any  objections  which 
he  might  be  pleased  to  communicate.  Our 
correspondence,  however,  ended  with  my  reply. 

In  the  Church  Review  for  April,  1848,  there 
is  a  notice  of  this  work,  which  contains  the  fol- 
lowing :  "  To  the  correctness  of  the  translations 
from  Jarchi  and  some  of  the  Targums,  we  our- 
selves can  testify.  The  tract  from  the  More 
Nevochim,  or  Guide  to  the  Perplexed,  we  have 
compared  throughout  with  the  original  Hebrew^ 
and  pronounce  it  accurate  and  scholar-like."  I 
give  this  extract,  because  the  remarks  were 
written  by  the  late  venerable  and  Rev.  James 
Murdoch,  D.D.,  than  whom  few  men  were  more 
competent  to  give  a  correct  opinion,  and  none 
more  certain  to  give  such  as  he  believed  to  be 
true. 

The  next  year  I  published  a  pamphlet  of 
eighty  pages,  for  the  immediate  use  of  theolo- 
gical students  in  their  critical  examination  of 
the  New  Testament,  intending  it  at  the  same 
time  for  Bible-classes,  and  private  Christians 
who  might  be  willing  to  take  some  trouble  in 
order  to  ascertain  the  meaning  of  sacred  Scrip- 
ture. I  gave  it  the  title :  Spiritual  Things 
Compared  with  Spiritual,  and  Explained  to 
Spiritual  Men;  or  an  Attempt  to  Illustrate  the 
New  Testament  by  Parallel  liefer ences.    The 


220  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

allusion  which  it  contains,  to  a  meaning  of  1 
Corinthians  2  :  13,  different  from  that  of  our 
authorized  translation,  is  explained  in  the  Pre- 
face, which  states,  also,  the  design  of  the  publi- 
cation. By  putting  it  into  the  hands  of  Semi- 
nary students,  I  have  been  saved  the  trouble 
of  dictating,  and  they  of  copying  a  multiplici- 
ty of  references.  I  intended  it  as,  in  a  measure, 
a  Biblical  Comment  on  the  New  Testament. 
On  the  appearance  of  this  volume,  which,  al- 
though quite  small,  had  given  me  a  good  deal 
of  trouble,  it  was  noticed  in  a  Church  paper. 
I  thought  it  expedient  to  vindicate  the  Refer- 
ences from  its  strictures,  and  therefore  publish- 
ed two  articles  in  the  Protestant  Cliurcliman 
of  May  twenty-seventh,  and  June  tenth,  1848. 
The  editor  of  the  former  periodical  "  could  not 
imagine  upon  what  ground  all  allusion  to  the 
Holy  Eucharist  was  avoided  "  in  the  references 
on  John  6  :  52-56.  I  stated,  in  reply,  that,  as  I 
had  "  taken  some  pains  in  the  Essay  "  previous- 
ly mentioned,  "  to  show  that  the  discourse  re- 
corded in  the  sixth  chapter  of  St.  John  does 
not  relate  directly  to  the  Eucharist,  and  that 
any  part  of  it  can  only  be  indirectly  applied 
thereto  with  propriety,  I  purposely  omitted 
any  reference  to  that  institution,  lest  the  reader 
should  think  that  I  intended  to  teach  a  direct 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  221 

relation  of  the  one  to  the  other."  I  referred, 
also,  to  the  view  of  that  Discourse,  as  given  by 
"Whitby,  Hammond,  Waterland,  Beveridge, 
and  Cranmer,  amono;  the  Church  of  England 
divines,  with  that  of  Erasmus,  of  the  Church  of 
Rome." 

The  reviewer's  next  remark  was  as  follows : 
"Oar  authorized  version,  in  the  margin,  paral- 
lels with  verse  52,  Matthew  26  :  26,  28.  We 
suppose  that  the  authority  of  our  translators 
ought  not  lightly  to  be  set  aside."  I  replied  to 
this  in  full :  "  Our  authorized  version  has  been 
repeatedly  published  with  parallel  references, 
varying  in  different  editions.  It  is  a  mere 
assumption  to  say  that  the  authority  of  any 
such  collation  is  equal  to  that  of  the  transla- 
tion. The  old  editions,  both  of  King  James's 
Bible  and  of  the  translations  that  preceded  it, 
contain  very  few  references.  It  is  the  later 
editions  which  have  multiplied  them.  If  the 
question  is  tried  by  Tertullian's  rule  —  id  est 
verum  quodcunque  primum,  id  est  adulterum 
quodcunque  posterius — the  remark  about  light- 
ly setting  aside  authority,  and  the  parallels  of 
our  authorized  version  must  be  retracted.  Let 
us  look  at  the  facts. 

"Crammer's  Bible,  1539,  has  very  few  refer- 
ences, and  on  John  6,  does  not  refer  to  Matt. 


222  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

26  :  26,  28.  The  Bishop's  Bible,  1575,  has 
very  few,  and  none  on  John  6  :  52-67.  The 
Genevan,  printed  by  Robert  Barker,  in  Lon- 
don, 1584,  does  not  refer  to  the  text  in  Mat- 
thew, but  does  to  1  Cor.  11  :  27,  and  so  also 
Barker's  New  Testament  of  1605.  Beza's 
'  English  edition  by  L.  Toinson,'  and  printed 
bv  Barker  in  1601,  has  no  reference  to  Matt. 
26.  King  James's  Bible  of  1611,  contains  very 
few  references  in  general ;  on  John  6,  only  fif- 
teen, and  none  to  Matt.  26."  I  proceeded  to 
refer  to  many  other  early  authorities  from  1613 
to  1671,  and  then  asked  what  was  meant  by 
atlie  parallels  of  our  authorized  version,  and 
the  setting  aside  of  the  authority  of  our  trans- 
lators? If  the  charge  of  setting  aside  author- 
ity could  be  alleged  at  all,  it  would  be  against 
those  who  refer  to  Matt.  26,  and  those  who 
advocate  the  reference.  But  I  waive  the  ad- 
vantage which  the  incautious  remark  has  given 
me,  as  I  do  not  admit  the  principle  assumed. 
The  references  have  not  the  same  authority  as 
the  text.  In  all  the  editions  the  text  is  intend- 
ed to  be  the  same,  not  so  the  references.  And 
to  what  edition  are  we  to  go  for  the  authorita- 
tive ones \ " * 

*  These  remarks  have  a  very  direct  bearing  on  the  controversy  re- 
specting the  standard  Bible,  which  arose  in  connection  with  the  action 
of  the  American  Bible  Society  in  1857,  and  will  be  afterwards  noted. 


REV.  DR.   TURNER.  223 

The  next  remark  in  the  notice  is  this :  "  To 
say  nothing  of  Catholic  antiquity."  The  incli- 
nation to  censure  on  the  same  ground  as  that 
which  was  taken  against  certain  portions  of  the 
Companion  to  Genesis,  appears  in  this  short 
clause.  I  set  it  aside  with  that  plainness  which 
I  thought  the  attempt  deserved.  "  It  is  not  at 
all  uncommon  to  assume  a  consent  of  fathers 
in  behalf  of  some  favorite  exposition,  whereon 
some  equally  favorite  dogma  is  thought  to  be 
sustained,  and  then  to  ring  the  changes  of  the 
favorite  strain  of  an  ideal  catholicity.  The 
term  catholic,  and  its  cognate  expressions,  have 
become  with  certain  persons  vague  and  indefi- 
nite epithets.  We  hear  of  catholic  architec- 
ture, catholic  poetry,  catholic  music,  catholic 
usages,  most  of  which  were  confined  to  very 
limited  localities,  and  originated  in  compara- 
tively late  periods.  I  have  no  thought  of  de- 
nying a  real  catholicity  on  leading  points.  A 
catholicity  in  the  great  and  fundamental  doc- 
trines of  the  Gospel,  and  in  the  facts  and  in- 
stitutions which  serve  to  develop  and  prove 
them,  I  not  only  admit,  but  delight  to  recog- 
nize and  avow.  But  I  must  say,  that  the  view 
of  John  6  :  53-56,  which  explains  it  of  the  Eu- 
charist, is  not  supported  by  Catholic  antiquity. 
To  prove  such  authority  an  induction  of  many 


224  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

particulars  is  necessary.  Quotations  must  "be 
adduced  and  examined.  A  concurrent  series  of 
writers  must  be  produced.  An  isolated  allu- 
sion or  clause,  in  one  or  two  fathers,  proves 
nothing.  The  careful  inquirer  will  ask,  what 
is  the  evidence  afforded  by  an  examination  of 
the  whole  \  and  this  implies  an  accurate  com- 
parison of  each  with  the  other."  The  third  part 
of  the  Essay  on  John  6,  is  then  referred  to  for 
"  the  most  important  passages  in  Catholic  anti- 
quity, as  they  are  there  given  in  the  original 
Greek  and  Latin,  and  translated  into  English," 
on  passages  in  that  chapter,  "  which  some  mod- 
erns have  understood  as  directly  intended  of 
the  Eucharist."  I  went  somewhat  at  large  into 
that  "interpretation  of  our  Lord's  discourse 
which  makes  it  relate  directly  to  the  Euchar- 
ist," which  I  designated  as  a  "private,  not 
CatJioUc"  exposition,  and  gave  an  account  of 
the  discussion  which  took  place  on  this  point 
at  the  Council  of  Trent,  showing,  from  Palla- 
vicini,  that  that  body  did  not  venture  to 
appeal  to  Catholic  interpretation  of  this  dis- 
course in  reference  to  the  Lord's  Supper.  This 
part  of  the  communication  I  afterwards  incor- 
porated in  an  Appendix  to  a  second  edition 
of  the  Essay,  which  was  published  in  1851. 
Knowing  how  deeply  and  extensively  rooted 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  225 

was  the  erroneous  application  of  this  discourse, 
and  the  unfounded  supposition  of  its  patristical 
explanation  being  sacramental,  I  availed  myself 
of  the  occasion  afforded  to  show  the  contrary. 
This  I  did  at  length,  and  with  sufficiently  full 
references. 

In  the  next  paper  the  reviewer  repeated  the 
old  assertions,  and  referred  to  ancient  writers  by 
name.  I  had  accommodated  to  his  unproved 
statements  and  intimations  the  words  of  Juve- 
nal— "  stat  pro  ratione  " — dictum.  To  this  he 
replies  thus :  "  He  must  be  a  queer  man,  indeed, 
to  pass  off  his  dictum  instead  of  reason  and  ar- 
gument, when  the  latter,  in  the  shape  of  testi- 
monies from  Ignatius,  Irenseus,  Tertullian,  Cle- 
mens Alexandrinus,  Augustine,  etc.,  etc.,  can 
be,  as  Professor  Turner  is  well  aware,  so  very 
cheaply  obtained  by  any  one  who  is  ambitious 
to  make  a  display  of  quotations."  Few  read- 
ers of  this  sentence  could  suppose  that  what 
the  writer  represents  as  not  only  susceptible  of 
proof,  but  familiar  to  all  well-read  theolo- 
gians, is  entirely  unfounded,  and  without  even 
a  shadow  of  evidence.  This  I  Stated  in  the 
plainest  terms.  "I  assure  the  writer  that  I 
was  not  aware  that  these  testimonies  could  be 
obtained  so  cheaply.  Indeed  I  know  they  can 
not  be  obtained  at  any  price.  The  reader  will 
10* 


226  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

Ibear  in  mind  that  the  point  at  issue  is  the 
eucharistic  or  sacramental  interpretation  cf 
John  6,  assumed  to  be  given  by  those  writers, 
not  what  they  may  say  about  the  Eucharist. 
If  the  reviewer  can  so  easily  get  reason  and 
argument  in  the  shape  of  testimonies  to  this 
effect  from  these  Fathers,  let  him  produce 
them,  and  thus  entitle  himself  to  the  merit  of 
the  discovery.  This  is  the  very  thing  I  have 
called  on  him  to  do,  and  which  I  know  he  can 
not  do ;  and  for  this  plain  reason,  that  they  are 
not  to  he  found  in  these  writers.  I  must  there- 
fore say  again,  that  instead  of  proof  we  have 
assertion."     Here  the  controversy  ended. 

On  the  third  Sunday  in  Advent,  December 
sixteenth,  1849,  it  became  my  turn  to  address 
the  students  on  occasion  of  the  matriculation 
of  the  Junior  class.  I  selected  a  subject  which 
was  appropriate  in  general  to  my  department 
of  Interpretation,  and  also  particularly  adapted 
to  meet  certain  vague  and  undefined  notions, 
of  which  what  has  just  been  quoted  affords  a 
specimen.  I  called  attention  to  the  sacred 
Scriptures  as*  the  sole  rule  of  faith,  founding 
my  two  discourses  on  the  words  of  the 
Psalmist,  "The  entrance  of  thy  word  giveth 
light,"  (119  :  130.)  One  or  two  portions  are 
selected  to  show  the  nature  of  the  principle 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  227 

maintained   and   the  plainness   with   which  I 
brought  it  out. 

"  We  return  then  to  the  query  suggested  by 
the  affirmation  of  the  text — where  shall  we 
find  this  word  of  God,  the  entrance  of  which 
giveth  light  ?  A  reply,  sufficiently  laconic,  was 
once  almost  universally  given  to  this  question, 
namely,  in  the  Church ;  and  it  has  been  re- 
peated with  and  without  exposition  and  limi- 
tation— ask  the  Church.  If  this  direction  be 
intended  to  imply  that  the  Church  is  properly 
the  fountain  of  Divine  light,  it  is  untrue,  and 
contradicted  by  unequivocal  statements  in  our 
own  standards  of  faith,  by  frequent  declara- 
tions of  the  earliest  and  best  of  the  fathers. 
In  this  sense,  the  general  direction  to  draw 
the  truth  from  the  Church,  as  its  fountain,  in- 
volves many  particulars,  each  of  which  must 
be  clearly  settled  before  we  can  ever  be  pre- 
pared to  apply  it.  What  is  the  Church  ? 
Who  compose  it  ?  What  constitutes  mem- 
bership %  What  is  necessary  for  legitimate 
initiation?  Does  the  direction  relate  to  the 
Church  now  ?  or  in  certain  past  ages  ?  or 
in  all  its  phases  of  existence  ?  As  the  al- 
leged source  of  religious  light,  has  the  Church 
always  been  invariably  the  same?  and  if  so, 
has  she  the  essential  property  of  never  teach- 


228  AUTOBIOGEAPHY  OF 

ing  error  ?  On  what  ground  is  such  infallibil- 
ity predicated  ?  If  of  Scriptur^  where  are  the 
texts,  and  who  is  to  expound  them?  If  of 
reason,  where  is  there  even  a  show  of  evi- 
dence ?  and  who  is  to  judge  of  it  ?  How  is 
the  assumption  to  be  reconciled  with  the  de- 
monstrable fact,  that  certain  doctrines  of  one 
age  have  been  maintained  in  contradiction  to 
those  of  another  —  both  classes  being  equally 
authoritative  ?  Does  the  Church  speak  through 
the  whole  mass  of  her  members  ?  or  through  a 
majority?  or  through  the  faithful  only?  and 
if  so,  who  is  to  discriminate  these  among  the 
visible  mass,  and  to  select  the  wheat  from 
among  the  tares?  or  is  it  through  some  one 
claiming  to  be  universal  head  ?  and  who  or 
what  is  he?  and  where  are  his  credentials? 
Or  again,  is  it  through  her  ecclesiastical  offi- 
cers? And  are  all  of  them  the  medium,  or 
only  a  moiety  ?  If  the  latter,  of  what  grade  ? 
Or,  if  so  groundless  a  claim  be  rejected,  and 
it  be  admitted  that,  at  various  times  and 
places,  the  instructions  of  the  Church  have 
varied,  how  are  we  to  know  when  and  where 
she  has  been  right  ?  If  her  teaching  should 
be  thought  to  be  equivocal  or  doubtful,  who 
has  the  right  and  ability  to  interpret  the 
interpreter?     It   is   not   to   be   expected  that 


KEV.   DK.   TUKNEK.  229 

vague  or  unproved  statements  on  these  and 
other  kindred  theological  topics  will  be  blind- 
ly admitted  by  men  of  intelligence.  They  do 
but  perpetuate  controversy  without  eliciting 
truth.  The  Church,  by  which  I  mean  the 
body  of  Christians  that  have  lived,  and  do 
live,  and  shall  continue  to  live  on  the  earth, 
proclaiming  the  living*  word,  and  rightly  ad- 
ministering and  receiving  the  divinely  insti- 
tuted sacraments,  is  no  infallible  source  of  the 
truth.  It  is  indeed  its  'pillar  and  ground/  its 
firmly  established  support.  It  is  its  'keeper 
and  witness,'  the  consecrated  ark  overshadowed 
by  the  cherubim,  preserving  those  tables  of  the 
divine  law  which  '  were  written  by  the  finger 
of  God.'  This  character  of  the  Church  sets  her 
up  as  '  the  standard  for  the  nations,'  and  makes 
her  publicly  call  them  to  flock  to  the  banner 
of  that  mighty  conqueror,  whose  '  rest  shall  be 
glorious.'  It  kindles,  on  the  shore  of  the 
ever-troubled  sea  of  mistiness  and  doubt,  that 
lofty  beacon-light,  which,  supplied  with  the 
holy  oil  of  the  sanctuary,  shall  never  go  out, 
but  burn  and  flame  and  blaze  in  a  celestial 
sj^lendor,  until  its  divine  warmth  and  illumin- 
ation shall  have  dissipated  error,  and  shall 
have  animated  and  attracted  to  itself  all  the 
tempest-tossed  and  perishing.     But  the  Church 


230  AUTOBTOGKAPHY  OF 

can  only  preserve,  can  only  show  forth,  illus- 
trate, impress  divine  truth.  She  can  not  ori- 
ginate one  particle  of  that  holy  light,  which 
owes  its  being  to  the  Father  of  illumination, 
of  whom  alone  it  is  the  first-born  offspring." 

As  I  could  not  comprise  all  that  I  wished 
to  incorporate  in  the  matriculation  address 
within  the  limits  of  one  discourse,  on  the 
afternoon  of  the  same  day  I  resumed  the 
subject,  examining  the  inquiry  how  God's 
word  may  enter  into,  the  heart  and  under- 
standing so  as  to  give  light.  I  laid  down 
three  leading  directions,  resolving  them  into 
the  duty  of  prayer  and  dependence  on  the 
Author  of  divine  illumination,  the  exercise 
of  sound  sense  and  good  judgment,  and  the 
acquisition  of  a  competent  acquaintance  with 
holy  Scripture  in  the  original.  These  points 
I  endeavored  to  develop  and  impress.  The 
discourses  were  published  at  the  request  of 
the  students,  with  notes  appended.  They  are 
entitled:  Light  in  the  Church,  God's  Word, 
the  Source  of  Divine  Light,  and  how  it  may 
be  most  successfully  studied.  I  have  reason 
to  think  that  its  open  development  of  import- 
ant Protestant  truth,  was  not  without  its  use. 
Though  it  exposed,  both  in  the  discourses  and 
notes,  some  favorite   representations  of  not  a 


KEV.   DR.   TURNER.  231 

few,  no  attempt   was   made  to  overthrow  its 
statements  or  reasonings. 

During  the  spring  and  summer  of  1851,  I 
delivered  in  the  Seminary  Chapel  seven  dis- 
courses on  Prophecy.  The  subjects  treated 
of  were,  its  divine  origin,  its  increasing  de- 
velopment and  certainty,  the  various  ways 
in  which  it  was  communicated,  prophetic  vis- 
ion, prophetic  simile  and  figure,  and  the  qual- 
ifications of  the  interpreter.  To  these  I  added 
another  on  the  blessing  of  Japhet,  though  it 
did  not  make  a  part  of  the  series.  These 
eight  discourses  I  published  at  the  request  of 
the  students,  accompanying  them  with  suitable 
notes.  They  make  a  12mo  volume  of  219 
pages. 

In  attending  to  the  duties  of  my  department 
I  had  found  by  experience  that  but  few  young 
men  obtained  any  clear  insight  into  the  mean- 
ing of  difficult  texts  by  a  mere  reference  to 
various  commentators.  Such  a  course  frequent- 
ly produced  confusion  of  mind,  and  moreover 
required  more  time  than  the  Seminary  arrange- 
ments allowed.  It  Jiad  therefore  been  my  in- 
variable practice  for  many  years  to  lecture  on 
all  the  portions  of  Scripture  which  I  intended 
to  make  the  subject  of  recitation.  The  ma- 
terials for  these  lectures  were  written  in  an  in- 


232  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

terleaved  New  Testament,  the  London  edition 
of  Griesbach  of  1818.     I  had  frequently  been 
requested  by  some  of  the  more  studious  and 
intelligent  members  of  the  Seminary  to  pub- 
lish a  Greek  Testament   with   notes,  so  con- 
densed as  not  to  exceed  two  volumes.     I  knew 
that  this  would  not  admit  of  such  an  exegesis 
as    a   careful   examination   of    many   portions 
would  demand,  in  order  to  satisfy  an  intelli- 
gent and  conscientious  inquirer,  and  that  the 
enterprise  would  result  in  a  meagre  and  unsat- 
isfactory production.    I  therefore  determined  to 
select  some  of  the  most  important  portions  of 
the  New  Testament,  and  to  prepare  an  exposi- 
tion of  them,  without  being  limited  in  space, 
but  guided  by  the  nature  of  the  subjects  in- 
volved.    I  began  with  the  Epistle  to  the  He- 
brews, selecting   this   book,  because  the  notes 
which  I  had  already  accumulated  on  it  were 
considerable,  and  also  because  an  exegetical  in- 
vestigation of  its  various  portions  appeared  to 
be  particularly  appropriate  in  the  state  of  the 
Church  at  that  time.     I  had  been,  for  years,  in 
the   habit   of  directing   the   attention    of  the 
classes  to  the  subject  of  quotations  in  the  New 
Testament   from  the  Old,  not  so  much  with 
reference  to  their  verbal   conformity  either  to 
the  original  Hebrew  or  the  Septuagint  Trans- 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  233 

lation,  as  to  that  of  tlie  thought  and  general 
purport.  The  notes  on  this  point,  which  I  had 
prepared  for  lecturing  on  the  second  chapter 
of  St.  Matthew,  I  incorporated  with  the  Com- 
ment on  Hebrews  1  :  5,  because  of  their  adapt- 
ation to  this  and  other  passages  in  the  chapter. 
Had  I  begun  with  the  Gospels,  I  should  have 
much  preferred  introducing  this  matter  in  con- 
nection with  the  early  part  of  St.  Matthew. 
The  volume  was  published  in  1852,  with  the 
title,  The  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  in  Greek  and 
English,  with  an  Analysis  and  Exegetical  Com- 
rnentary.  I  afterwards  added  an  Appendix, 
containing  a  series  of  questions  on  the  entire 
book.  *  The  whole  volume  amounted  to  200 
pages  8vo. 

The  next  year  I  published  a  similar  volume 
of  252  pages  on  the  Romans,  with  the  Greek 
type  much  improved.  I  dedicated  this  volume 
to  the  memory  of  Bishop  White,  to  whom, 
when  living,  I  had  addressed  my  first  produc- 
tion on  the  same  Epistle  in  1824.  The  pub- 
lisher threw  the  dedication  into  the  form  of 
an  urn. 

Early  in  the  spring  of  1856,  I  published  a 
third  volume  of  Commentary,  namely,  on  the 
Ephesians,  pages  198.  This  I  dedicated  to  my 
friend,  the  Rev.  Christian  Frederic  Cruse,  D.D. 


234  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

In  the  autumn  of  the  same  year  I  added  a 
small  volume  of  98  pages  on  the  Galatians. 
My  original  intention  was  to  unite  these  two 
in  one  volume ;  but,  after  both  were  prepared 
for  the  press,  I  saw  an  announcement  of  Jow- 
■ett's  work  on  the  latter  Epistle,  and  deferred 
printing  my  own  until  I  should  have  examined 
it.  My  present  intention  is  to  unite  the  Rom- 
ans and  Gralatians  in  one  volume,  on  account 
of  the  connection  of  the  main  subject  of  each 
Epistle. 


KEV.   DE.   TURNER.  235 


CHAPTER    XI. 

Plain-Song  in  the  Seminary— Mr.  Hopkins — Pastoral  Care  of 
the  Students — The  American  Bible  Society— His  Relation 
to  it — The  Standard  Bible — The  Fortieth  Anniversary  of  his 
Professorship — Sketch  of  Dr.  Wilson — General  Review. 

I  shall  now  proceed,  briefly,  to  state  three 
particulars,  two  of  which  bear  on  my  connec- 
tion with  the  Seminary,  and  the  other  on  that 
with  the  American  Bible  Society. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Trustees,  held  on  June 
twenty-eighth,  1855,  the  following  resolution 
was  passed : 

"Resol/ved,  That  the  Standing  Committee  be, 
and  is  hereby  empowered,  to  provide  for  the 
students  of  the  Seminary,  instruction  in  vocal 
sacred  music."  * 

Under  this  resolution  of  the  Board,  the  Rev. 
John  Henry  Hopkins,  Jr.,  was'  appointed  in- 
structor by  the  Standing  Committee,  and  this 
was  sanctioned  by  the  Trustees  at  a  subsequent 
meeting,  f  Mr.  Hopkins  entered  on  the  duties 
of  his  office  in  November,  and  made  a  report 

*  See  Procedings,  etc.,  June  twenty-eighth,  1855,  page  40. 
f  See  the  Proceedings  at  the  Triennial  Meeting,  September  twenty- 
ninth,  1856,  page  114. 


236  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

in  June,  1856.  The  following  year,  June  twen- 
ty-third, a  second  very  brief  report  was  sub- 
mitted, and  some  time  afterwards  the  instruct- 
or resigned. 

In  the  early  part  of  1856  a  difference  of 
opinion  arose  in  reference  to  the  Chapel  music. 
The  lately  appointed  teacher,  at  the  request, 
as  I  was  informed,  of  a  majority  of  the  stu- 
dents, accepted  the  place  of  organist.  In 
this  capacity,  and  also  in  that  of  instructor, 
he  introduced  the  kind  of  chanting  which  is 
known  by  the  name  of  "  plain  song,"  to  the 
exclusion,  in  a  great  degree,  of  the  music  be- 
fore in  use.  A  very  large  proportion  of  the 
students  was  opposed  to  this  novelty.  One  of 
the  consequences  was,  that  the  number  who  at- 
tended his  instructions  became  much  reduced, 
and  not  a  few  were  unwilling  to  take  part  in 
a  service  so  characterized.  Ever  since  the 
regular  morning  and  evening  services  of  the 
Church  had  been  used,  in  accordance  with  the 
direction  of  the  Trustees,  the  mode  of  celebrat- 
ing them  had,  in  all  particulars,  been  under  the 
control  of  the  officiating  professor;  and,  as 
the  students  had  generally  made  such  arrange- 
ments as  were  in  nowise  objectionable,  and  fre- 
quently highly  commendable  in  point  of  musi- 
cal taste   and  religious  feeling,  the  officiating 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  237 

professors  scarcely  ever  had  any  occasion  to  in- 
terfere with  their  arrangements.  Thus  things 
went  on  harmoniously.  The  chanting  of  the 
Psalter,  (introduced  by  Dr.  Ogilby,)  I  had  al- 
ways objected  to,  inasmuch  as  it  was  against 
the  ordinary  usage  of  our  Church ;  and,  in  my 
opinion,  neither  rubrical  nor  in  character  with 
the  Institution,  as  a  General  Seminary,  intend- 
ed for  the  whole  Church.  In  this  particular  I 
stood  alone,  not  objecting,  however,  to  the  ar- 
raugements  of  my  brother  professors,  who,  on 
their  part,  never  objected  to  mine. 

On  the  introduction  of  the  plain-song  chant- 
ing by  the  Reverend  Instructor  who  had  taken 
the  place  of  organist,  I  addressed  a  note  to  him, 
claiming  the  right,  as  officiating  professor,  to 
control  the  music  when  it  was  my  turn  to  read 
the  service,  and  requesting,  on  such  occasions, 
the  omission  of  that  style  of  chanting.  To  my 
great  surprise,  the  musical  instructor  and  organ- 
ist claimed  this  right  himself,  ex  officio,  and  de- 
clined acceding  to  my  views.  To  his  commu- 
nications I  made  one  reply,  which  I  supposed 
would  be  satisfactory  and*  agreeable.  His  an- 
swer confirmed  my  previously  formed  determi- 
nation, and  I  refused  to  yield,  in  any  degree, 
what  I  regarded  both  as  my  official  right  and 
duty.    Mr.  Hopkins  therefore  refused  to  act  as 


238  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

organist  on  the  days  when  I  read  the  service. 
Consequently,  some  anti-plain- song  student  pre- 
sided at  the  organ  on  such  occasions.  This 
was  quite  gratifying  to  me,  as  I  never  thought 
"  plain-song  "  either  agreeable  to  a  musical  ear, 
or  devotional  in  its  impression. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Trustees,  held  in  Trin- 
ity Church,  October  sixteenth,  1832,  the  office 
of  Dean  of  the  Faculty  was  instituted,  each  of 
the  resident  professors  being  directed  to  exer- 
cise its  rights  and  attend  to  its  duties  annually 
in  succession.*  The  first  report  was  made  by 
me  June  twenty-fifth,  1833;  the  second  by  Dr. 
Wilson  June  twenty-fifth,  1834;  and  the  next, 
as  recorded  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Trustees, 
by  Professor  Whittingham,  June  twenty-fourth, 
1837-t  Notice  of  this  appointment  appears 
also  in  the  statutes  published  in  18364  The 
following  amendment  was  passed  in  1837  : 

"  He  shall,  also,  during  the  term  of  his  office, 
be  charged  with  the  public  religious  instruc- 
tion and  the  pastoral  care  of  the  students."§ 

Next  year  the  office  devolved  on  me ;  and  in 
the  report  which,  as  Dean,  I  made  to  the  Trus- 

*  See  Proceedings,  ubi  sup.  page  367. 

f  Ubi  sup.  pages  413,  462,  585,  586. 

%  See  chapter  vi.  section  2,  pages  16,  17. 

§  Proceedings,  pages  619,  626. 


REV.   DR.  TURNER.  239 

tees,  I  submitted  to  their  consideration  the  fol- 
lowing remarks : 

The  undersigned  "has  always  regarded  the 
pastoral  care,  even  of  an  ordinary  congregation, 
as  comprising  duties  of  great  interest  and  im- 
portance, not  to  be  undertaken  without  careful 
examination  and  conscientious  conviction  of 
duty.  The  pastoral  care  of  a  number  of  theo- 
logical students  preparing  for  the  ministry,  he 
could  not  but  consider  as  a  charge  still  more 
solemn  in  its  character,  involving  a  responsibil- 
ity, than  which  scarcely  any  can  be  greater,  and 
not  to  be  imposed  without  the  consent  of  the 
person  sustaining  the  office  of  pastor.  Still, 
it  was  the  desire  of  the  Dean  to  meet  the 
wishes  of  the  Trustees  as  far  as  he  consistently 
could,  by  giving  to  the  students  'the  public 
religious  instruction'  which  the  statute  enjoins. 
It  was  at  first  his  intention  to  meet  the  stu- 
dents in  the  Seminary  Chapel  on  Sunday  morn- 
ings for  public  "worship  and  sermon.  Such  ser- 
vices had  been  performed  there  by  Professor 
Wilson  and  himself  during  several  years,  be- 
fore the  Chapel  of  St.  Peter's  was  built.  But  a 
practical  difficulty  immediately  suggested  itself. 
Soon  after  entering  the  Seminary,  almost  all 
the  students  became  connected  with  different 
churches  in  the  city,  both  as  members  under 


240  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

the  rectors,  who  exercise  towards  them  the 
same  pastoral  relation  which  they  exercise  to- 
wards the  other  members  of  their  congrega- 
tions, and  also  as  superintendents  or  teachers 
in  the  respective  Sunday-schools  belonging  to 
the  congregations  of  which  they  constitute  a 
part.  Was  it  expedient  for  the  Dean  to  re- 
quire an  attendance  which  would  destroy  this 
connection  ?  Was  it  the  intention  of  the  Trus- 
tees that  he  should  do  this,  and  call  away  the 
students  from  duties  useful  to  themselves  and 
beneficial  to  others,  and  in  which  young  men 
preparing  for  the  ministry  ought  chiefly  to  be 
interested?  A  third  service,  after  the  fatigue 
of  Sunday-school  instruction  during  the  day, 
appeared  to  him  to  be,  in  general,  neither  agree- 
able nor  useful.  Embarrassed  by  these  consid- 
erations, and  unable  to  discover  by  private  con- 
versation with  individual  Trustees,  that  they 
had  been  in  contemplation  when  the  resolution 
was  passed,  he  has  not  given  i  public  religious 
instruction,'  neither  has  he  considered  himself 
as  sustaining  '  a  pastoral  relation'  to  the  stu- 
dents."* The  report  of  Dr.  Haight,  also  a  Dean, 
made  June  twenty-fifth,  1850,  incorporated  an 
account  of  my  action  as  "  chaplain"  during  the 

*  Proceedings,  ubi  sup.  pages  640,  641. 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  241 

preceding  year,  with  a  renewal  of  this  state- 
ment, that  I  u  could  not  consent,  for  reasons 
satisfactory  to  myself,  to  undertake  the  pastoral 
care  of  the  students." 

In  my  report  of  June,  1855,  I  brought  this 
point  again  before  the  Board,  and  insert  there- 
from the  following  extracts : 

"  With  that  part  of  the  requisition  before 
referred  to,  which  intrusts  '  the  whole  pastoral 
care  of  the  students '  to  the  Dean,  it  becomes 
my  duty  to  say  that  I  have  not  complied.  It 
is  not  my  purpose,  as  it  certainly  would  not  be 
within  my  province,  to  enter  at  all  into  the 
question  of  the  expediency  (according  to  the 
usual  analogy  of  the  ecclesiastical  regulations 
and  action  in  our  Church)  of  requiring  a  com- 
municant to  change  his  pastoral  relations  on 
becoming  a  member  of  the  Seminary,  or  a  pro- 
fessor to  assume  the  obligations  of  a  proper 
pastoral  charge.  It  is  certainly  optional  with 
the  one  to  decline  to  enter  the  Seminary,  and 
with  the  other  to  accept  a  professorship  on 
such  a  condition.  But  the  obligation  of  under- 
taking such  condition,  when  superadded  to  the 
original  terms,  is  quite  a  different  consideration. 
The  chief  reason  of  my  unwillingness  to  be  re- 
garded as  the  students'  pastor,  I  will  state  with 
that  frankness  which  ought  to  characterize 
11 


242  AUTOBIOGKAPHY  OF 

every  right-minded  man,  and  which  a  long  con- 
nection with  the  Seminary  may  the  rather  jus- 
tify me  in  employing.     The  ordinary  pastoral 
duties,  those,  namely,  of  religious  service  and 
instruction,  of  attention  and  consolation,  also,  in 
occasional  sickness,  I  am  quite  willing  in  my 
turn  to  perform.     But  there  is  another  duty 
incumbent  on  a  pastor,  which,  if  fully  exercised 
in  all  cases,  might  bring  a  Dean  into  collision 
with  some  rectors,  and,  it  may  be,  Standing 
Committees  and  Bishops.     The  pastor  is   ex- 
joected  to  recommend  the  candidate  for  Holy 
Orders  as   'worthy   to   be   admitted   thereto.' 
(Canon  XV.  of  1832.)    I  can  not  pledge  myself 
to  do  this  for  every  student  whose  testimonial 
of  having  properly  attended  to  the  prescribed 
course  of  study  I  may  be  fully  authorized  to 
sign.     On  the  contrary,  it  may  happen  that,  as 
pastor,  I  should  sometimes  be  obliged  to  dis- 
courage a  student  from  taking  upon  him  the 
ministerial    office.      This   would    not    necessa- 
rily imply  deficiency  in  his  moral  or  religious 
character.     It  might  be  founded  on  an  apparent 
want  of  other  essential  qualifications.     And  I 
do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  I  am  not  stating  a 
hypothetical  case.     But  here  a  professor  might 
readily  fall  into  a  mistake,  as  he  can  not  be 
supposed  to  know  a  young  man  so  thoroughly 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  243 

as  the  '  minister  of  the  parish,'  who,  for  a 
course  of  years,  has  had  him  under  his  own  in- 
spection and  spiritual  training.  Still,  the  Semi- 
nary pastor  must  act  on  his  own  conviction  of 
duty  ;  and  this,  as  was  before  remarked,  might 
bring  him  into  unpleasant  conflict  of  opinion 
with  some  of  his  brethren.  In  stating  this  dif- 
ficulty, I  have  gone  on  the  supposition  that, 
by  the  phrase,  '  the  whole  pastoral  care  of  the 
students,'  in  the  statute  before  referred  to,  the 
intention  was  to  constitute  the  Dean  their  sole 
pastor,  a  meaning  which  seems  to  be  the  only 
legitimate  one. 

"  On  the  other  hand,  I  not  only  grant,  but 
am  deeply  impressed  by  the  conviction,  that  for 
those  students  who  have  not  been  brought  up 
in  this  city,  and  who  consequently  can  enjoy 
no  accustomed  pastoral  supervision  during  their 
Seminary  course,  it  is  all-important  to  provide, 
in  connection  with  the  Institution,  a  truly  pas- 
toral head,  who  shall  feel  the  duty  and  obliga- 
tion, and  have  also  the  right,  untrammelled  by 
any  other  pastoral  authority,  to  train  those 
committed  to  his  charge,  and,  as  his  observa- 
tion and  knowledge  may  dictate,  to  encourage 
them  or  not  in  their  preparation  for  the  minis- 
try.    But  I  submit  whether  an  annual  change 


244  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

of  the  Pastor  is  likely  to  produce  any  efficient 
practical  result."* 

The  above  remarks  are  here  introduced  in 
corroboration  of  the  opinion  before  expressed. 
No  communication  has  ever  been  made  by  the 
Trustees  to  the  Faculty  on  this  subject,  or 
interview  held  with  them  by  any  Committee 
appointed  for  such  purpose.  The  Statute  re- 
mains unaltered.f  Whether  the  appointment 
of  Dean  as  "  Chaplain,  intrusted  with  the 
whole  pastoral  care  of  the  students,"  destroys 
all  rights  and  obligations  of  a  city  Rector  of 
whose  congregation  a  student  may  have  been  a 
member  from  infancy ;  or  whether  the  Statute 
regards  him  as  under  the  supervision  of  two 
pastors,  who  may  or  may  not  agree  in  recom- 
mending him  for  the  ministry;  also,  what  influ- 
ence an  official  position  is  likely  to  have  which 
is  to  be  relinquished  at  the  expiration  of  one 
year,  then  occupied  by  another  professor,  and 
at  some  future  time  reassumed  by  the  former, 
it  is  not  my  intention  to  note.  I  will  only  add 
that,  in  accordance  with  the  resolution  of  Dr. 
"Wilson  and  myself,  not  to  accede  to  the  Sta- 
tute, I  have  always  declined  to  sign  the  testi- 

*  Proceedings,  June  twenty-seventh,  twenty-eighth,  1855,  pp.  14,  15. 
f  See  Constitution  and  Statutes,  published  October,  1860,  Chapter  6, 
Section  2,  page  26. 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  245 

monials  of  students  for  admission  into  the  Min- 
istry, referring  thein  to  their  respective  Hec- 
tors; and  also,  in  the  cases  of  strangers,  who 
always  constitute  a  large  majority,  to  those 
city  pastors  with  whose  congregations  they  be- 
came connected. 

The  other  matter  before  alluded  to  is  so 
generally  and  extensively  known,  that  I  shall 
restrict  myself  to  a  very  few  remarks,  some  of 
which  are  rather  of  a  private  nature. 

The  Church  Review,  (a  quarterly  publica- 
tion, issued  at  New-Haven,)  of  October,  1856, 
Volume  IX.,  No.  3,  page  422,  contained  some 
strictures  on  the  Standard  Bible,  which  the 
Managers  of  the  American  Bible  Society  had 
lately  issued  with  more  than  usual  laudation. 
The  Committee  on  Versions,  of  which  I  was  a 
member,  to  whose  care  its  preparation  had 
some  years  before  been  intrusted,  had  intro- 
duced some  slight  alterations  in  the  spelling, 
particularly  of  two  or  three  proper  names,  oc- 
casionally also  as  to  capital  letters,  punctuation, 
and  frequently  in  the  headings  at  the  tops  of 
pages  and  over  chapters.  In  the  translation 
itself  no  change  had  been  made,  except  the  in- 
troduction of  the  definite  article  in  connection 
with  the  name  of  John.  A  portion  of  those 
strictures  seemed  to  me  to  have  an  unjust  bear- 


246  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

ing  on  the  conduct  of  the  Managers,  and  par- 
ticularly on  that  of  the  Committee  on  Versions. 
I  therefore  replied  to  it  in  the  next  number, 
pages  547-560.  The  subject  of  the  alterations 
introduced  in  the  Standard  Bible  soon  became 
prominent  in  the  ecclesiastical  or  religious  pa- 
pers of  various  denominations.  Some  misap- 
prehensions, and  also  some  misrepresentations, 
were  published.  In  many  English  and  some 
American  editions  of  King  James's  Bible,  mat- 
ter had  been  introduced  at  various  times  for 
two  centuries,  by  individuals,  and  independent- 
ly of  any  civil  or  ecclesiastical  authority.  The 
most  prominent  of  these  publications,  together 
with  the  original  edition  of  the  authorized 
translation,  which  made  its  appearance  in  1611, 
had  been  very  carefully  examined  by  the  Com- 
mittee. The  members  who  were  most  promi- 
nent in  carrying  out  this  laborious  undertaking 
were,  Dr.  Robinson,  Professor  in  the  Union 
Theological  Seminary,  and  Dr.  Vermilye.  Oc- 
casionally I  attended  the  meetings,  and  I 
think  the  Eev.  Dr.  Storrs  also.  The  Rev.  Dr. 
McLane  had  been  appointed  to  examine  certain 
leading  editions,  and  to  state  the  various  differ- 
ences, in  order  the  better  to  prepare  us  for 
deciding  on  the  particulars  to  be  reported  for 
action  on  the  part  of  the  Committee,  at  their 


EEV.   DK.   TUENEE.  247 

numerous  meetings.  In  this  position  he  labor- 
ed with  most  extraordinary  industry  and  care, 
and  presented  the  results  of  his  efforts,  with 
conscientious  fidelity  to  his  trust,  in  thousands 
of  various  readings  and  methods  accurately 
written  out.  Thus  some  of  the  various  acces- 
sions, which  in  course  of  time  had  been  ap- 
pended to  the  published  version,  and  some  also 
of  those  which  had  been  added  by  the  transla- 
tors themselves,  were  somewhat  modified,  radi- 
cally altered,  or  entirely  removed ;  and,  I  may 
well  say,  that  in  many  cases  a  marked  improve- 
ment was  made,  by  the  unanimous  consent  of 
the  Committee  on  Versions.  But  this  was  often 
represented  as  a  change  of  the  version  itself, 
which  had  been  left  unaltered. 

As  some  publications  by  the  author  of  the 
original  article  in  the  Church  Review,  and  par- 
ticularly by  certain  prominent  Presbyterian 
members  of  the  Society,  made  their  appear- 
ance, and  became  the  more  disseminated  and 
known,  the  excitement  increased  very  greatly. 
Not  a  few  of  the  leading  Managers  took  the 
ground,  that  the  Constitution  so  connected  the 
generally  prevailing  punctuation,  parentheses, 
spelling,  capitals,  headings,  and  references, 
which  were  in  common  use  when  the  Society 
was  formed,  with  the  text  itself,  as  to  compre- 


248  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

hend  both  under  the  name  of  the  Authorized 
English  Version.  Hence  they  inferred  that  the 
Society  could  not  rightly  give  its  sanction  to 
any  change  in  these  particulars.  Thus  they 
avowed  their  purpose  never  to  allow  any  thing 
to  be  admitted  into  their  editions  which  had 
not  been  published  half  a  century  before,  and 
to  stereotype  in  jperpetuum  headings  and  other 
accessory  matters  which  tended  naturally  to 
perpetuate  some  erroneous  notions  in  the  mind 
of  the  ordinary  reader.  Almost  all  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Committee  on  Versions  maintained 
the  opposite  principle,  namely,  that  the  Con- 
stitution simply  prohibited  any  change  of  the 
text  Yet  even  this  involved  an  examination 
of  the  question, — What,  in  no  small  number  of 
places  where  the  texts,  of  various  old  editions 
differed  from  each  other,  was  the  true  original 
reading?  The  object  which  the  very  distin- 
guished and  judicious  founders  of  the  Society 
had  in  view  was  to  perpetuate  and  extend  the 
revealed  "Word  of  God,  known  by  the  name  of 
the  Bible,  and  particularly  what  was  known 
as  the  authorized  English  Veksion  of  King 
James. 

The  discussions  which  arose  at  various  full 
meetings  of  the  Managers,  the  resolution  which 
was  passed  to  require  the  Committee  to  carry 


REV.   DR.  TURNER.  249 

into  effect  the  principle  before  stated,  and  there- 
by to  prepare  another  standard  edition  to  su- 
persede the  former,  and  their  refusal  to  permit 
a  protest  against  certain  resolutions  passed  at 
one  of  the  meetings,  (which  protest  was  signed 
by  six  of  the  whole  eight  members  of  the 
Committee,)  to  be  entered  on  the  minutes  of 
the  meeting,  led  those  members  to  .resign  their 
places.  I  was  afterwards  requested  to  accept  a 
position  in  the  new  Committee  about  to  be 
formed ;  but  as  I  had  resigned  simply  because 
I  could  not  conscientiously  acquiesce  in  the  ac- 
tion of  the  Managers,  nor  adopt  the  principle 
which  their  resolutions  enjoined,  I  declined  the 
offer. 

The  numerous  particulars  connected  with 
this  complicated  topic  which,  as  the  controver- 
sy advanced,  became  the  more  developed,  tend- 
ed to  show  that  the  history  of  our  highly  vene- 
rated, and  in  very  many  respects  most  invalua- 
ble English  Bible,  was  comparatively  but  little 
known.  Many  of  the  most  prominent  writers 
who  expressed  their  opinion  against  the  action 
of  the  Committee  on  Versions  in  preparing  the 
afterwards  rejected  standard  edition — splen- 
didly bound  folio  copies  of  which  had  been 
sent  By  the  Managers,  accompanied  by  the 
highest  eulogies,  to  most  of  the  crowned  heads 

11* 


250  AUTOBIOGKAPHY  OF 

of  Europe — were,  in  fact,  wholly  uninformed 
on  the  subject.  Some  took  for  granted  that 
the  version  of  1611,  in  the  exact  form  and 
position  of  the  words,  with  the  original  ap- 
pendages, had  been  handed  down  through  suc- 
cessive generations,  unaltered  for  nearly  two 
hundred  and  fifty  years.  In  order  to  set  the 
truth  of  this  matter  in  a  clear  light,  I  prepared 
a  private  letter,  which  I  sent  to  a  Right  Rev. 
friend,  whom  I  had  known  and  highly  esteemed 
for  more  than  forty  years,  who  had  published  a 
short  article  in  one  of  our  Church  papers.  I 
did  not  choose  to  enter  into  any  public  con- 
troversy on  the  much  disputed,  though  little 
understood  point,  but  availed  myself  of  the 
opportunity  to  point  out  the  generally  pre- 
vailing mistakes,  and  to  develop  the  truth  by 
an  induction  iif  detail  of  incontrovertible  state- 
ments. 

Respecting  the  changes  which  had  been 
made,  and  especially  those  in  the  headings,  I 
publicly  avowed  to  the  Board  of  Managers 
that  I  would  not  undertake  to  defend  the 
whole.  Every  member  of  such  a  committee 
could  not  be  expected  to  have  examined  indi- 
vidually each  one.  I  did  not  at  all  hesitate  to 
acknowledge  that  many  alterations  migLrt  prop- 
erly, and  indeed  ought  to  be  made.     And  I 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  251 

have  no  doubt  that  if  the  whole  matter  had 
been  a^ain  intrusted  to  the  same  Committee, 
with  directions  to  reexamine  and  improve  the 
standard  edition,  the  result  would  have  given 
much  more  general,  though  not  universal,  sat- 
isfaction than  will  be  the  consequence  of  acting 
on  the  principle  laid  down  by  the  Board.  In 
that  case  I  would  have  devoted  myself  to  so 
important  a  work  without  passing  over  a  single 
point  unexamined.  In  the  hope  that  some  im- 
provement with  regard  to  headings  might  be 
introduced,  I  drew  up  a  good  many  alterations, 
suggesting  what  appeared  to  me  more  appro- 
priate than  any  in  ordinary  use.  Those  of 
Isaiah  I  revised  with  great  care.  In  examiniug 
the  Oxford  quarto  edition  of  1852,  I  found 
several  places  at  variance  with  the  edition  of 
1611,  and  a  comparison  with  those  of  the  re- 
jected standard  evidently  showed  the  great  su- 
periority of  the  latter  in  many  respects,  a  good 
many  of  the  others  being  not  only  unsupport- 
ed by  the  text,  but  inconsistent  with  its  plain 
meaning.  But  these  manuscripts  I  set  aside. 
Nevertheless,  as  the  principle  of  providential 
action  is  progress,  the  time  will  come,  sooner 
or  later,  when  this  whole  matter  must  be  re- 
vised and  improved. 

On  June  twenty-third,  1858,  I  addressed  a 


252  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

note  to  the  Alumni  of  the  Seminary,  stating 
the  time  of  my  "  appointment  to  a  professor- 
ship," and  inviting  them  to  be  present  on  the 
occasion  of  the  fortieth  anniversary  of  that 
appointment,  when  it  was  my  intention  to  de- 
liver an  Address  in  St.  Peter's  Church.  I  re- 
ceived a  very  kind  and  affectionate  reply,  sign- 
ed by  their  recording  Secretary,  the  Rev.  Mor- 
gan Dix,  accepting  the  invitation. 

On  the  night  of  the  eighth  of  October,  after 
the  usual  evening  service  and  the  delivery  of 
the  anniversary  address,*  I  had  the  happiness 
of  meeting  many  of  my  Rev.  brethren,  some  of 
them  my  old  pupils  between  thirty  and  forty 
years  before,  now  well  known  as  useful  pas- 
tors, and  several  maintaining  distinguished  po- 
sitions in  the  Church.  Of  the  Bishops  who 
had  been  students  in  the  Seminary,  the  Right 
Rev.  Drs.  Whitehouse  and  Horatio  Potter 
were  present.  The  gratification  was  very 
greatly  increased  by  an  incident,  to  me  entire- 
ly unexpected.  Just  before  partaking  of  the 
evening  collation,  Bishop  Whitehouse,  who 
had  graduated  in  1824,  addressed  me  in  be- 
half  of   the   Alumni,   presenting  me   with   a 

*  Three  thousand  copies  of  the  Address  were  afterwards  printed  by 
the  direction  of  the  Alumni,  and  one  thousand  put  into  my  hands  for 
distribution,  chiefly  to  future  students. 


REV.   DR.  TURNER.  253 

paper  commemorative  of  the  fortieth  anniver- 
sary of  my  appointment  as  professor,  and  kind- 
ly expressive  of  their  regard.  It  was  signed 
"by  a  large  number  then  present,  and  after- 
wards by  several  others,  who  were  then  living 
at  a  distance  from  the  city.  The  paper  was 
beautifully  drawn  up  by  the  Rev.  John  Henry 
Hopkins,  Jr.,  and  ornamented  with  six  draw- 
ings, illustrative  of  Scriptural  facts  bearing 
upon  the  period  of  forty  clays  or  years.  From 
more  than  fifty  pupils,  living  in  various  States, 
and  some  quite  remote,  I  received  very  friendly 
letters,  which,  among  others,  some  of  earlier 
and  some  of  later  date,  I  hope  to  retain  in  pos- 
session until  the  end  of  life.  I  could  not  but 
feel  that  the  complimentary  remarks  of  the 
Right  Rev.  graduate  of  thirty-six  years'  stand- 
ing were  beyond  my  desert,  and  it  was  not 
without  difficulty  that  I  could  command  my 
feelings  so  as  to  make  a  suitable  reply.  The 
document  presented  by  the  Alumni  I  have 
preserved  with  great  care,  and  shall  ever  re- 
gard this  occasion  as  among  the  most  interest- 
ing of  my  life. 

About  six  months  after  the  event  just  re- 
corded, another  occurred  of  a  very  different 
kind.  My  old  friend  and  brother,  the  Rev. 
Dr.  "Wilson,  whose  health  had  been  for  a  con- 


254  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

siderable  time  gradually  declining,  departed 
this  life  on  the  fourteenth  of  April,  1859,  in 
his  eighty -third  year.  The  funeral  services 
were  performed  in  St.  Peter's  Church,  of  which 
he  had  been  a  constant  attendant  ever  since  its 
origin.  His  interment  took  place  in  the  burial- 
ground  of  Christ  Church,  in  Philadelphia,  at 
the  corner  of  Arch  and  Fifth  streets,  in  the 
presence  of  a  large  body  of  the  most  respect- 
able clergy  and  laymen.  At  the  request  of 
his  niece,  whom  I  had  known  from  her  child- 
hood, in  which  also  the  clergy  had  united, 
at  a  meeting  held  immediately  after  the  ser- 
vice at  St.  Peter's,  I  delivered  there,  on  the 
eighth  of  May,  a  sermon  in  commemoration  of 
the  life  and  character  of  the  deceased.  It  was 
published  at  the  joint  request  of  the  clergy  of 
New- York,  and  of  the  Faculty  and  Trustees 
of  the  Seminary.  After  some  remarks  on  the 
doctrine  of  the  resurrection,  a  topic  which  was 
adapted  to  the  occasion,  and  particularly  in 
accordance  with  the  ecclesiastical  time  of  the 
year,  I  gave  a  short  sketch  of  Dr.  Wilson's 
life  and  character.  As  this  very  able  and  ex- 
cellent man,  formerly  a  lawyer  and  judge, 
and  afterwards  a  divine,  always  remarkable 
for  retired  habits  and  true  Christian  humil- 
ity, was  probably  not  much  known  in  New- 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  255 

York,  I  shall  here  introduce  a  page  or  two  of 
the  discourse,  with  references  in  support  of  the 
statements  therein  made. 

"  It  is  not  my  purpose  to  go  into  detail,  but 
merely  to  state  some  prominent  facts.* 

"The  Rev.  Bird  Wilson  was  the  son  of  a 
gentleman  of  Scotland,  who  was  born  in  1742. 
The  Hon.  James  Wilson  was  educated  at  Glas- 
gow, St.  Andrew's,  and  Edinburgh,  and  in  part 

*  "  The  brief  notice  of  Dr.  Wilson's  father  was  obtained  chiefly  from 
the  following  publications:  'Encyclopedia  Americana,'  Article — James 
Wilson. — 'Alexander  Graydon's  Memoirs  of  his  Own  Time,'  edited 
by  John  Stockton  Littell.  8vo.  Phila. :  Lindsay  and  Blakiston,  1S46. — 
'  History  of  the  Origin,  Formation,  and  Adoption  of  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States,'  by  George  Ticknor  Curtis.  8vo,  2  vols.  Har- 
per and  Brothers,  N.Y.,  1854.  In  this  work,  Judge  Wilson  is  very  fa- 
vorably mentioned.  The  following  extracts  will  show  how  highly  he 
was  appreciated :  '  The  life  of  this  wise,  able,  and  excellent  man,  was 
comparatively  short.  The  character  *of  his  mind,  and  the  sources  of 
his  influence,  will  be  best  appreciated  by  examining  some  of  the  more 
striking  passages  of  his  great  speech  on  the  Constitution.'  This  is  fol- 
lowed by  a  note,  covering  fourteen  closely  printed  pages,  all  of  which 
is  quoted  from  the  speech  referred  to;  vol.  i.  page  462,  et  seq.  In  vol. 
ii.  page  520,  he  is  represented  as  'one  of  the  wisest  and  ablest  of  the 
framers  of  the  Constitution. 

"For  the  few  biographical  statements  respecting  his  son,  I  am  in- 
debted chiefly  to  private  information,  obtained  from  the  most  reliable 
sources.  For  the  reader's  satisfaction,  I  will  mention  the  names  of  the 
Hon.  Horace  Binney,  and  the  Rev.  Jehu  C  Clay,  D.D.,  who  for  a  time 
was  rector  of  the  Church  at  Norristown  while  Dr.  Wilson  was  one  of  its 
wardens,  and  also  that  of  Miss  Hollingsworth,  the  Doctor's  niece,  who 
resided  with  him  the  greater  part  of  the  time  that  he  lived  in  New- 
York.  The  kindness  of  these  gentlemen  and  this  most  estimable  lady 
in  replying  to  my  request  for  information,  is  hereby  respectfully 
acknowledged. 


256  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

under  the  supervision  of  Drs.  Blair  and  Rob- 
ertson, men  universally  celebrated  for  superior 
talent  and  learning.  Soon  after  his  arrival  at 
Philadelphia,  in  the  year  1766,  he  became  a 
tutor  in  the  College,  and  acquired  a  high  repu- 
tation as  a  classical  scholar.  Entering  on  legal 
practice,  first  at  Reading,  and  afterward  at  Car- 
lisle, his  abilities  and  acquisitions  soon  made 
him  conspicuous.  In  1775  he  was  elected  a 
member  of  Congress.  Being  a  uniform  advo- 
cate of  American  independence,  he  signed  the 
well-known  Declaration.  In  1787  he  was  a 
member  of  the  Convention  which  framed  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and  one  of 
the  Committee  that  reported  the  draft.  Two 
years  after  he  was  appointed  by  Washington  a 
Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court.  He  died  at  the 
age  of  fifty- six,  leaving  behind  him  three  vol- 
umes of  political  and  legal  disquisitions,  highly 
valued  by  intelligent  men. 

"  The  son  inherited  his  father's  talent,  and  in 
due  time  made  himself  equally  conspicuous. 
Born  January  eighth,  1777,  he  graduated  at 
the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  then  known 
by  the  name  of  College,  at  the  early  age  of 
fifteen,  in  the  year  1792,  about  the  time  that 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Ewing  became  Provost.  He  pur- 
sued the  study  of  law,  under  the  direction  of 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  257 

Joseph  Thomas,  of  Philadelphia,  aided,  no 
doubt,  by  the  abilities  of  his  father.  Hi's  early 
companions  and  friends  were  gentlemen  who 
afterward  attained  a  grade  of  eminence  in  their 
profession  which  few  jurists  in  this  country 
have  ever  reached."  Of  Mr.  "Wilson  it  is  not 
too  much  to  say,  accommodating  the  words  of 
the  Apostle,  that  he  was  'not  a  whit  behind 
the  very  chief  of  his  associates.  In  the  exer- 
cise of  his  profession  he  was  remarkable  for 
the  soundness  of  his  counsels,  founded  on  ex- 
tensive knowledge  of  general  principles  and 
careful  attention  to  the  particular  cases  under 
consideration.  He  soon  obtained  a  place  in 
the  office  of  the  Commissioner  of  Bankrupt 
Law,  and  when  a  young  man  of  only  twenty- 
five,  wras  appointed  '  President  Judge '  of  the 
Court  of  Common  Pleas,  in  a  judicial  district 
composed  of  several  of  the  eastern  counties  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  known  as  the  Seventh  Cir- 
cuit. His  residence  was  then  at  Norristown, 
where  he  was  held  in  high  respect  and  esteem 
for  his  virtues  as  a  Christian  man,  and  his  inte^- 
rity,  uprightness  and  ability,  as  presiding  offi- 
cer of  the  Judiciary  Department.     In  this  hon- 

*  "Among  the  distinguished  persons  alluded  to,  it  is  sufficient  to 
mention  the  names  of  Mr.  Horace  Binney,  Messrs.  Chauncey,  and  Mr. 
John  Sergeant. 


258  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

orable  position  it  was  his  habit  thoroughly  to 
examine  all  accessible  data  bearing  on  any  liti- 
gated matter  in  question.  Keeping  in  mind  all 
the  points  of  evidence,  great  and  small,  on 
both  sides,  he  weighed  them  in  the  balance  of 
equity  with  the  utmost  scrupulousness,  drew 
his  conclusions  with  most  logical  accuracy,  and 
formed  his  judgment  with  the  most  conscien- 
tious carefulness.  Indeed  Judge  Wilson  was 
so  distinguished  for  the  soundness  of  his  deci- 
sions, that  only  one  was  ever  reversed  in  a  su- 
perior court,  and  that  simply  because  he  had 
not  access  to  a  document  which  contained  such 
information  on  the  case  as,  if  known,  would 
have  modified  his  view. 

"In  the  year  1813  the  President  Judge  pub- 
lished Matthew  Bacon's  Abridgment  of  the 
Law,  an  English  work,  with  considerable  addi- 
tions by  a  Barrister/"  The  American  editor 
informs  his  readers  that  his  object  was  Ho  in- 
corporate into'  his  publication  'the  substance 
of  the  English  decisions '  which  had  been  pass- 

*  "The  title  of  this  publication  is  as  follows:  A  New  Abridgment 
of  the  Law.  By  Matthew  Bacon,  of  the  Middle  Temple,  Esq.  With 
considerable  additions,  by  Henry  Gwillim,  of  the  Middle  Temple,  Esq., 
Barrister  at  Law.  The  first  American,  from  the  sixth  London  Edition ; 
with  the  addition  of  the  later  English  and  the  American  Decisions.  By 
Bird  Wilson,  Esq.,  President  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  in  the 
Sevonth  Circuit  of  Pennsylvania.  In  seven  volumes.  Philadelphia: 
Published  by  Philip  H.  Nicklin.     1813. 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  259 

ed  since  the  appearance  of  the  last  London  edi- 
tion, i  together  with  the  cases  upon  the  same 
subjects  decided  in  America.'  The  preparation 
of  this  work,  which  is  in  seven  volumes,  large 
octavo,  demanded  great  labor  and  research ;  and 
the  additions  are  characterized  by  the  editor's 
extensive  investigations  and  well  known  accu- 
racy. 

"During  the  time  that  Judge  Wilson  re- 
sided at  Norristown,  he  so  employed  his  moral 
and  religious  energies,  as  to  induce  the  few 
Episcopalians  of  the  place  to  erect  the  church 
which  stands  there  at  the  present  day.  Of  this 
church  he  was  warden  for  several  years,  and 
a  delegate  to  the  Conventions  of  the  diocese. 

"  His  deeply  religious  character  led  him,  on 
an  official  occasion,  when  his  kindly  feelings 
were  more  than  usually  wrought  upon,  to  turn 
his  attention  very  decidedly  to  the  sacred  office 
of  the  ministry,  and  on  the  twelfth  of  March, 
1819,  he  was  ordained  Deacon,  by  the  Right 
Rev.  Bishop  White,  in  Christ  Church,  Phila- 
delphia, and  Priest  about  a  year  afterwards." 
In  a  few  years,  the  lately  ordained  Judge  be- 
came a  Professor  in  the  General  Seminary, 
where  he  continued  to  give  instruction  in  Sys- 
tematic Divinity  until  June  twenty-fifth,  1850. 

Since  the  year  1853  I  had  been  accustomed 


260  AUTOBIOGEAPHY  OF 

to  send  certain  articles  to  the  Parish  Visitor, 
in  compliance  with  the  request  of  the  Editor. 
They  consisted  chiefly  of  expositions  of  some 
.  of  our  Lord's  instructions,  selected  from  the 
first  three  Gospels.  Thinking  that,  if  collected 
together,  and  somewhat  improved  by  a  few 
alterations  and  additions,  a  volume  might  be 
constructed,  which  would  be  useful  to  thought- 
ful readers  of  the  New  Testament,  and  particu- 
larly to  all  Sunday-school  teachers,  and  also  to 
the  more  religious  and  intelligent  of  their  pu- 
pils, I  published,  towards  the  close  of  the  year 
1859,  a  volume  of  two  hundred  and  fifty-eight 
pages,  entitled,  Teachings  of  the  Master,  ivith 
an  attempt  to  explain  and-  enforce  them.  By 
a  Disciple.  It  contains  twenty-five  Essays,  be- 
ginning with  John's  announcement  of  the 
Kingdom  of  Heaven,  and  ending  with  his 
Lord's  reply  to  the  Sadducees  in  defense  of  the 
doctrine  of  the  resurrection.  The  wood-cut 
which  precedes  the  title-page  was  copied  from 
a  very  beautiful  picture,  which  some  of  Dr. 
Muhlenberg's  affectionate  pupils  had  presented 
to  him,  as  a  memorial  of  their  esteem  and  high 
appreciation  of  his  worth.  The  celebrated 
Hubner,  by  whom  it  had  been  painted,  was 
informed  by  the  Rev.  owner,  that  he  regarded 
it  as  the  most  lovely  and  perfect  symbol  of 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  261 

Protestantism  that  lie  had  ever  seen.  The  gift- 
ed artist  expressed  his  great  gratification  by 
replying  that,  to  produce  a  proper  symbol  of 
that  religious-  system  which  regards  the  sacred 
Scriptures  as  the  sole  rule  of  faith,  was  the 
very  motive  by  which  he  had  been  governed. 

In  the  hope  that  this  volume  might  be  made 
useful,  in  accordance  with  its  author's  inten- 
tions, I  had  it  in  contemplation  to  publish  a 
second,  on  selections  from  St.  John's  Gospel. 
I  therefore  prepared  two  Essays,  explanatory 
of  the  Saviour's  address  to  Nathanael,  in  1 :  48- 
51,  and  of  his  statement  to  the  unbelieving 
Jews,  in  2  :  19,  with  the  accompanying  remarks. 
These  were  introduced  in  the  same  monthly 
periodical.  After  devoting  a  good  deal  of  time 
and  attention  to  our  Lord's  conversation  with 
Mcodemus,  I  found  that  the  Essay  on  this  all- 
important  '  Teaching  of  the  Master,'  compre- 
hending, as  it  necessarily  must,  an  examination 
of  several  controverted  theological  points,  and 
also  of  other  scriptural  instructions  connected 
therewith,  would  not  be  well  adapted  to  the 
character  of  this  practical  paper.  For  this 
reason,  and  also  because  the  former  Essays  con- 
tinued for  more  than  two  years  to  be  but  little 
known  or  used  by  those  for  whom  they  had 
been   especially  prepared,   the    intention   was 


262  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

abandoned.  The  Essay  is  finished,  and  I  have 
had  it  on  hand  for  some  time,  and  shall  per- 
haps publish  it,  if  there  be  any  probability  of 
the  necessary  expense  being  paid. 

The  Parallel  Eeferences,  before  mentioned, 
became  so  scarce  in  the  course  of  ten  years, 
that  they  could  not  be  procured  for  the  use  of 
students.  I  therefore  determined  to  prepare  a 
second  edition.  As  the  particular  bearing  of 
the  texts  referred  to  was  not  always  sufficiently 
obvious,  I  resolved  to  add  such  brief  remarks 
as  might  be  expedient,  omitting  any  notice  of 
portions  which  seemed  of  themselves  sufficient- 
ly plain  to  any  careful  and  intelligent  reader. 
As  I  proceeded  in  this  undertaking,  I  found  it 
best  to  go  somewhat  more  into  detail.  In  less 
than  a  year  a  little  book  of  two  hundred  and 
twenty- one  pages  was  printed,  the  illustrations 
being  limited  to  the  Gospels  and  Acts.  I  dedi- 
cated it  to  the  Alumni,  and  recommended  its 
use  to  scriptural  readers  in  general,  and  partic- 
ularly to  such  as  can  not  go  beyond  the  English 
language.  Since  the  appearance  of  this  volume 
I  have  prepared  similar  notes,  but  somewhat 
fuller,  on  the  Epistles  to  the  Eomans  and  Co- 
rinthians. Believing,  as  I  do,  that  the  most 
effectual  way  to  acquire  a  right  understanding 
of  the  New  Testament  is  to  examine  it  by  the 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  263 

aid  of  parallel  references,  and  thus  make  it  ex- 
planatory of  itself,  I  shall  continue,  as  time  and 
ability  may  allow,  to  prepare  similar  exposi- 
tions of  other  leading  epistles,  in  the  hope 
that  the  time  may  come  when  both  clergy  and 
laity  will,  by  this  truly  Protestant  course,  en- 
deavor to  teach  revealed  truth,  and  to  engraft 
it,  both  in  the  minds  and  hearts  of  their  young- 
er brethren  and  children. 

The  last  book,  to  the  arrangement  of  which 
I  devoted  considerable  time,  made  its  appear- 
ance towards  the  close  of  1860.  It  is  simply 
the  Gospels,  in  the  form  of  the  Harmony, 
which  originated  in  the  third  century.  In  the 
Greek  it  had  been  before  published ,  but  never, 
so  far  as  I  know,  in  any  modern  language.  It 
is  called,  The  Gospels,  according  to  the  Ammo- 
nictn  Sections  and  the  Tables  of  JEusebius.  It 
consists  of  ten  different  parts.  The  first  com- 
prehends those  portions  which  are  common  to 
the  whole  four.  The  second,  third,  and  fourth 
contain  corresponding  selections  from  three : 
namely,  Matthew,  Mark,  and  Luke ;  Matthew, 
Luke,  and  John ;  and  Matthew,  Mark,  and 
John.  The  live  following  are  limited  to  those 
statements  which  occur  in  two  only ;  Matthew 
and  Luke,  Matthew  and  Mark,  Matthew  and 
John,  Luke  and  Mark,  and  Luke  and  John. 


264  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

The  tenth  presents  to  the  reader  what  is  pecu- 
liar to  each. 

I  have  now  brought  clown  the  particulars  of 
rny  life,  which  may  be  supposed  to  be  of  any 
interest  to  my  family  and  friends,  to  the  sum- 
mer of  1861,  which  finds  me  rather  a  feeble 
old  man,  in  his  seventy-second  year,  who  can 
not  reasonably  expect  to  continue  much  longer 
in  this  world.  May  God,  of  his  infinite  mercy, 
prepare  me  for  a  better  one,  and  when  he  shall 
be  pleased  to  take  me  hence,  may  he  receive 
me  into  his  everlasting  kingdom  of  glory, 
through  the  merits  of  my  only  trust  and  source 
of  hope,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  Saviour  of 
sinners.  I  have  had  trials  to  be  borne,  some 
deep  and  permanent,  but  I  have  also  had  bless- 
ings without  number  to  be  thankful  for.  It  is 
now  nearly  forty-three  years  since  I  became 
connected  with  the  General  Theological  Sem- 
inary. I  have  not  unfrequently  felt  that  I 
was  doing  but  little  practical  good  in  this  po- 
sition, and  have  regretted  that  I  did  not  devote 
my  life  to  the  ministerial  duties  of  a  parish. 
At  other  times  I  have  been  much  encouraged  to 
believe  that  my  efforts  to  instil  revealed  truth 
into  the  minds  of  young  men,  who  were  to  go 
out  into  the  world  to  preach  the  Gospel,  have 
been  useful.     This  feeling  has  been  strengthen- 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  265 

ed  by  witnessing  on  several  occasions  an  in- 
creased attention  to  the  truths  of  God's  word, 
and  an  earnest  endeavor  to  acquire  clear  views 
of  them ;  by  often  receiving  letters  from  young 
clergymen,  expressive  of  their  sense  of  the 
deep  importance  and  practical  utility  of  the 
study  of  the  Bible  as  here  recommended  and 
pursued;  and  by  witnessing  the  active  exer- 
tions in  the  Lord's  vineyard  of  many  former 
pupils.  Matters  have,  indeed,  occasionally 
arisen  which  were  very  grating  to  my  feelings ; 
but  these  have  been  more  than  counterbal- 
anced by  expressions  of  kindness  and  respect 
on  the  part  of  students,  which  I  could  not  have 
anticipated,  and  which  I  certainly  feel  that  I 
had  no  right  to  claim.  I  will  mention  one 
which  stands  out  prominently.  After  conclud- 
ing my  lectures  to  the  Senior  Class  in  1855,  as 
was  my  usual  practice,  with  a  few  collects  and 
the  benediction,  I  was  requested  .by  one  of  the 
members  to  remain  a  few  moments.  On  re- 
suming my  seat,  he  addressed  me  in  the  name 
or  the  class,  which  consisted  of  fifteen;  and 
after  expressing  their  regard  in  unmerited 
terms  of  thankfulness  for  instruction,  he  dis- 
played to  view  a  silver  flagon,  presented  by 
them  to  the  Chapel  of  the  Seminary,  in  order 
to  complete  its  set  of  communion  vessels.  It 
12 


266  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

was  beautifully  finished,  with  an  inscription 
around  the  rim  at  the  bottom  to  this  effect, 
that  it  was  presented  by  the  Senior  Class  of 
1855  to  the  Chapel  of  the  Seminary,  and  as  a 
token  of  regard  for  me.  At  the  same  time  he 
handed  me  a  letter,  to  which  each  member  of 
the  class  had  affixed  his  name,  expressive  of  the 
feelings  which  prompted  the  act.  The  whole 
matter  was  altogether  unexpected,  and  I  could 
not  reply  at  the  moment  in  a  manner  at  all  ad- 
equate to  my  sense  of  their  kindness.  In  my 
written  answer  I  reciprocated  it,  with  the  hope 
that  the  great  Head  of  the  Church  would  ac- 
company the  ministerial  efforts  of  each  with  his 
presence  and  blessing.  The  occasion  was  to 
me  one  of  the  most  interesting  and  agreeable 
which  ever  took  place  during  my  connection 
■with  the  Seminary. 


REV.   DR.  TURNER.  2G7 


CHAPTER   XII. 

EDITORIAL     CONCLUSION. 

Death — Funeral — Bishop  Potter's  Address — Notices  of  the  Press 
— Resolutions  of  various  Committees,  etc. 

The  preceding  record  of  certain  events  with 
which  the  life  of  the  He  v.  Dr.  Turner  is  asso- 
ciated will,  of  itself,  be  insufficient  to  convey  a 
just  idea  of  his  character.  The  active,  earnest 
Christian,  the  diligent  and  thorough  scholar, 
the  profound  theologian,  the  ardent  lover  of 
truth,  and  its  unflinching  advocate  through 
evil  as  well  as  good  report,  may  stand  out  with 
more  or  less  distinctness  on  these  pages;  but 
the  whole  man,  as  he  was  seen  by  his  intimate 
friends  and  in  his  family,  is  very  imperfectly 
presented.  This  could  hardly  have  been  other- 
wise, where  the  object  of  the  author  was  so 
limited,  and  where  a  man  so  characterized  by 
unconsciousness  of  self,  was  recording  facts 
that  pertained  to  his  own  history.  A  memoir 
from  the  hand  of  some  friend,  who  knew  him 
well  and  thoroughly  appreciated  his  character, 
would  contain  much  that  could  not  be  expect- 
ed from  his  own  pen,  which  would  be  both 
interesting  and  valuable  to  the  reader.     En- 


268  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

dowed  with  quick  and  lively  sensibilities,  lie 
experienced  and  imparted  great  pleasure  in 
congenial  society.  All  his  domestic  qualities 
were  of  the  most  attractive  and  endearing  char- 
acter. He  combined,  in  a  rare  degree,  mascu- 
line strength  and  womanly  tenderness,  a  pure 
and  highly  refined  taste,  with  simple,  unosten- 
tatious habits.  His  ever  ready  sympathies  led 
him  to  go  "about  doing  good,"  wherever  he 
could  relieve  distress  "in  mind,  body,  or  es- 
tate." This  is  seen  in  his  deep  interest  in  the 
Foreign  Missionary  work  of  our  Church,  and 
in  his  active  labors  in  its  behalf,  in  his  zeal  in 
preaching  the  Gospel  wherever  he  spent  his 
summer  vacations,  and  in  the  personal  atten- 
tion and  practical  relief  which  he  bestowed  so 
liberally  on  the  poor  in  the  neighborhood  of 
his  residence  in  New- York.  He  was  cordial  in, 
and  much  "  given  to  hospitality,"  and  firm  and 
steadfast  in  his  friendships.  With  a  vivid  and 
just  appreciation  of  the  beauties  of  nature  and 
art,  he  joined  a  passionate  love  of  music.  The 
indulgence  of  this  taste  was  almost  the  only 
recreation  he  allowed  himself  during  his  severe 
labors  and  studies. 

To  this  partial  "  record  of  a  good  man's  life," 
the  addition  of  what  would  be  necessary  to 
present  a  complete  view  of  his  character  and 


REV.  DR.   TURNER.  269 

labors  would  be  out  of  place.  The  design  of 
the  narrative  will  be  carried  out,  by  appending 
a  few  facts,  and  some  of  the  obituary  notices 
and  resolutions,  which  appeared  in  the  Church 
press  soon  after  his  death.  His  labors,  some  of 
which  he  has  sketched  in  this  volume,  were 
brought  to  a  close  a  short  time  after  the  last 
page  was  written.  He  had  returned  from  his 
usual  summer  retreat  among  the  Green  Moun- 
tains of  Vermont,  invigorated  by  its  bracing 
air,  and  refreshed  by  that  communion  with  the 
beautiful  and  sublime  in  nature  which  he  so 
ardently  loved  and  thoroughly  enjoyed.  One 
term  of  the  Seminary  year  had  passed  in  the 
pleasant  discharge  of  his  accustomed  duties, 
and  he  was  looking  forward  with  satisfaction 
to  the  relaxation  afforded  by  the  Christmas  re- 
cess, when  the  Master  called  him  to  the  enjoy- 
ment of  that  eternal  "  rest  which  remaineth  for 
the  people  of  God."  The  high  spirit  which 
ever  yielded  unwillingly  to  the  requirements 
of  bodily  infirmity,  had  been  too  exacting  in 
its  daily  demands  upon  his  nervous  powers 
and  strength,  to  leave  much  vital  force  in 
reserve  for  the  struggle  with  disease.  One 
week  sufficed  to  "  loose  the  silver  cord ; "  but 
so  gently  was  this  done,  that  it  seemed  to 
be  unmarked  by  himself,  and  almost  by  those 


270  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

around  him.  The  mind,  clear  and  unclouded, 
retained  its  supremacy  on  his  bed  of  languish- 
ing. Its  last  energies  were  employed  in  giving 
directions,  which  proved  to  be  final,  to  those 
whose  advancement  in  piety  and  learning  was 
the  cherished  object  of  so  large  a  portion  of 
his  valuable  life,  and  soon  after  he  peacefully 
fell  asleep  in  Jesus. 


I 

From  the  Christian  Times. 
The  Rev.  Samuel  H.  Turner,  D.D. 

We  take  up  our  peu  with  a  profound  consciousness 
of  our  inability,  by  a  brief  and  necessarily  hurried 
notice,  to  do  justice  to  the  life,  character,  and  labors 
of  our  distinguished  brother. 

The  theological  student  and  youthful  friend  of  "the 
father  of  the  American  Church,"  his  ministerial  career 
stretching  across  a  period  of  more  than  half  a  centu- 
ry, and  nearly  all  of  it  indissolubly  identified  with  the 
leading  historical  features  of  our  Church,  his  official 
life  alone  would  be  a  record  too  voluminous  for  these 
columns.  And  still,  these  very  circumstances,  as  well 
as  our  personal  affection  for  him  as  a  tried  Christian 
friend,  demand  more  at  our  hands  than  an  ordinary 
passing  notice.  A  labored  eulogy  is  not  our  purpose. 
It  would  not  accord  with  his  tastes,  nor  with  the  sin- 
gular humility  and  absence  of  ostentation  which 
marked  his  Christian  course ;  but  it  is  due  to  his  exalt- 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  271 

ed  Christian  character,  and  to  the  important  position 
which  he  occupied  so  long,  and  filled  with  such  honor 
to  himself,  that  more  than  the  bare  mention  of  his  de- 
parture should  be  recorded  in  these  columns,  which 
have  been  so  often  enriched  by  his  gifted  pen. 

After  reciting  the   outlines  of  his   history 
down  to  1836,  the  article  continues : 

It  would  be  unsuitable  to  a  notice  like  this,  to  fol- 
low up,  with  any  thing  like  detail,  the  history  of  our 
revered  and  beloved  friend  beyond  this  point.  It 
would  involve  the  secret,  and  therefore  the  real  history 
of  the  Institution  with  which  he  has  been  so  honora- 
bly identified  for  forty-three  years.  It  would,  how- 
ever, be  an  act  of  injustice  to  his  memory  and  charac- 
ter, as  well  as  to  the  cause  of  truth,  if  we  failed  to  re- 
cord the  fact,  that  amidst  the  unlawful  claims  of  offi- 
cial prerogative,  the  inroads  of  superstition  and  error, 
and  even  the  harsh  persecution  of  a  bitter  party  press, 
he  has  commanded  the  respect  of  all,  while  he  has  re- 
mained unmoved  and  immovable  in  his  principles,  the 
same  unflinching  Protestant,  fixed  in  his  adherence  to 
truth,  the  same  Christian  gentleman,  calm  and  dis- 
passionate in  his  position,  because  he  knew  that  he 
stood  upon  a  rock,  and  that  the  truth  of  God  would, 
in  the  end,  prove  mightier  than  the  craft,  or  malice, 
or  power  of  man.  For  his  unswerving  fidelity  to  her 
principles,  our  Church  owes  him  a  debt  of  gratitude, 
of  whose  magnitude  she  will  never  be  fully  conscious. 

Peculiarly  qualified  by  mental  constitution  and  ear- 
ly habits,  for  the  work  to  which  the  providence  of 


272  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

God  assigned  him,  he  prosecuted  it  to  the  very  last 
week  of  his  protracted  life,  with  unflagging  zeal  and 
patient  industry.  Largely  endowed  with  common- 
sense;  blessed  with  quick  perceptions,  a  retentive 
memory,  a  spirit  imbued  with  profound  reverence  for 
the  inspired  word ;  and  uniting  in  a  rare  and  happy 
combination  a  proper  regard  for  human  authority 
with  independence  of  judgment,  his  numerous  publi- 
cations are  not  only  a  towering  monument  of  his  vast 
attainments  in  learning,  but  they  present  a  mine  of 
Scriptural  truth,  in  which  the  Christian  scholar  may 
safely  delve  without  any  fear  of  its  exhaustion,  or  of 
being  led  astray. 

He  was  never  idle.  From  the  organization  of  the 
American  Bible  Society,  he  has  been  one  of  its  warm- 
est friends  and  most  steadfast  supporters ;  and  he  has 
evinced  his  interest  in  the  Institution  by  the  most  un- 
wearied labors  in  its  behalf. 

The  same  may  be  said  of  his  interest  in  the  Foreign 
Missionary  operations  of  our  Church,  and  of  the  value 
of  his  counsels  in  the  Committee  which  is  charged 
with  the  direction  of  the  work.  In  addition  to  the 
numerous  volumes  which  he  has  published,  many  of 
his  valuable  contributions  to  the  cause  of  Biblical 
learning,  and  upon  other  kindred  topics,  have  appear- 
ed anonymously,  from  time  to  time,  in  the  religious 
quarterlies  and  magazines  of  the  country. 

For  years,  each  number  of  the  Parish  Visitor  has 
contained  a  column  or  more  from  his  fertile  and  versa- 
tile pen,  and  the  aggregate  of  his  contributions  to  the 
Protestant  Churchman  would  fill  volumes. 

Several  modern  and  most  of  the  ancient  languages 


REV.  DR.   TURNER.  273 

in  existence  were  familiar  to  him.  Perhaps  no  man 
in  this  country  or  England  combined  such  varied  and 
extensive  learning  with  such  thoroughness  and  accu- 
racy. We  had  hoped  that  the  providence  of  God 
would  spare  him  to  place  the  results  of  his  learning 
and  labors  in  such  a  form  that  they  might  be  available 
to  the  Church. 

In  connection  with  all  this,  he  was  not  indifferent 
to  general  literature,  nor  an  idle  observer  of  the  prog- 
ress of  the  world  in  the  arts  and  sciences.  He  had  a 
keen  and  just  perception  and  appreciation  of  what- 
ever was  beautiful  in  nature  or  art,  in  poetry  and 
music.  He  was  especially  warm,  genial,  and  confid- 
ing in  his  friendships.  "We  shall  ever  esteem  it  as 
one  of  the  greatest  privileges  of  our  life,  that  for 
twelve  years  we  have  been  permitted  to  know  him, 
to  love  him,  and  enjoy  his  confidence.  As  great  as 
is  his  loss  to  the  Institution  which  he  has  so  long 
adorned ;  to  the  cause  of  truth,  which  he  has  so  long 
vindicated  and  upheld ;  to  the  committees  and  socie- 
ties which  have  so  long  enjoyed  the  wisdom  of  his 
counsels ;  and  to  the  cause  of  Biblical  learning,  upon 
which  he  has  for  so  many  years  shed  such  a  continued 
lustre  ;  the  loss  to  his  family  and  the  circle  of  his  in- 
timate friends  is  even  greater.  So  strong,  mutual, 
and  constant  were  their  sympathies,  that  in  separating 
from  him,  they  seem  to  have  lost  a  part  of  themselves. 

They  who  have  known  and  loved  him  must  mourn 
over  their  loss;  but  their  sorrow  is  tempered  with 
joy,  when  the  hand  of  faith  lifts  the  veil  from  the  un- 
seen world,  and  the  eye  of  faith  gazes,  enraptured,  on 
the  revealed  glories  of  which  he  is  a  partaker. 
12* 


274  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

Blessed  spirit!  he  lias  "fought  a  good  fight ;H  his 
warfare  is  past,  his  race  ended;  he  "rests  from  his 
labors"  in  those  bright  "mansions"  where  no  linger- 
ing breath  of  the  earthly  tempest  can  ruffle  the  still 
waters  of  his  eternal  peace,  or  mar  one  note  of  praise, 
or  dim  one  ray  of  light  and  love,  as  it  shines,  clear 
and  unclouded,  from  the  face  of  the  manifested  God. 


II. 

From  the  Church  Journal. 
The  Reverend  Doctor  Turner. 

There  is  not  one  of  the  hundreds  of  the  Alumni 
of  the  General  Theological  Seminary  who  will  not 
learn  with  grief  of  the  departure  of  the  Kev.  Dr.  Turn- 
er. On  the  second  Sunday  in  Advent  he  preached 
his  last, sermon,  in  St.  Peter's  Church,  on  "the  last 
Judgment."  During  that  week  he  was  apparently 
in  his  usual  health,  and  on  Saturday  afternoon  said 
Evening  Prayer  in  the  Seminary  Chapel ;  complain- 
ing of  the  coldness  of  the 'room,  however,  though  the 
day  was  exceedingly  mild.  The  coldness  was  the  pre- 
liminary symptom  of  the  disease  which  seized  upon 
him  during  the  night,  and  with  several  severe  chills 
developed  itself  at  last  into  typhoid  fever.  This  gain- 
ed daily  upon  his  remaining  strength,  until,  with  little 
pain  or  apparent  suffering,  he  departed  in  peace  last 
Saturday  evening,  between  six  and  seven  o'clock. 

Dr.  Turner's  name  has  been  a  household  word  with 
nearly  all  the  active  clergy  of  the  Church,  and  from  a 


EEV.   DR.   TURNER.  275 

time  as  far  back  as  they  can  remember.  The  chair 
which  he  has  filled — that  of  Biblical  Learning  and  the 
Interpretation  of  Scripture — in  the  General  Theologi- 
cal Seminary,  has  been  occupied  by  him  ever  since 
the  founding  of  the  Institution.  He  has  helped  to 
train  for  the  work  of  the  sacred  ministry  a  much 
larger  number  of  persons  than  any  other,  whether 
bishop,  clergyman,  or  layman,  in  the  Church  of  Amer- 
ica. And  fully  conscious  of  the  greatness  of  the  re- 
sponsibility thus  confided  to  him,  no  one  has  more 
conscientiously  and  industriously  labored,  day  and 
night,  to  qualify  himself  for  good  service  as  a  guide 
to  the  ministry  in  studying  the  unfathomable  depth 
of  God's  word.  This  indefatigable  labor  he  kept  up 
through  the  whole  of  a  professorship  lasting  nearly 
half  a  century ;  and  down  to  the  last  week  of  a  life 
prolonged  beyond  the  ordinary  span  of  threescore 
years  and  ten.  With  great  natural  strength  and 
quickness  of  mind,  he  had  so  thoroughly  imbued  him- 
self with  the  essential  spirit  of  his  own  department — 
he  had  so  cultivated  the  analytical  and  critical  facul- 
ty in  every  thing  connected  with  the  interpretation  of 
Holy  Scripture — that  the  average  result  may  be  stated 
as  that  of  soberness  and  general  consent  guarded  on 
every  side  by  common-sense,  and  fortified  by  a  deep 
and  various  learning  which  left  no  source  of  informa- 
tion or  illustration  unexplored.  ISTor  was  his  mind  less 
characterized  by  keenness  than  by  strength.  None 
of  his  pupils  will  ever  forget  the  relish  with  which  he 
impaled  the  extravagance  of  some  luckless  commenta- 
tor, ancient  or  modern,  on  the  keen  lance  of  his  wit, 
and  held  up  the  wild  enthusiastic  vagaries  of  ignor- 


276  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

ance  or  fanaticism  to  the  ridicule  of  the  recitation- 
room.  He  has  left  many  monuments  of  his  learning, 
also,  in  the  large  and  important  volumes  he  has  added 
from  time  to  time  to  our  treasures  of  Biblical  learn- 
ing. Nothing  proceeded  from  his  pen  that  was  not 
devoted  directly  and  chiefly  to  the  elucidation  and 
true  understanding  of  Holy  Scripture ;  and  with  pa- 
tient courage  and  devotion  he  went  on  with  volume 
after  volume,  though  the  demand  for  works  which  im- 
bedded so  much  of  the  dead  languages  in  their  pages 
was  never  sufficient  to  reimburse  him  for  the  outlay  of 
publication,  to  say  nothing  of  any  profits  from  the 
sale.  During  the  greater  part  of  his  long  and  labo- 
rious career,  moreover,  the  Institution,  with  which  he 
has  been  so  honorably  identified  since  its  establish- 
ment, has  been  able  to  offer  him  but  a  very  meagre 
support ;  and  this  year,  the  last  of  his  veteran  service, 
there  was  little  prospect  of  his  receiving  any  thing. 
It  has  been  mainly  through  his  own  private  means 
that  he  has  supported  himself  while  devoting  the 
labors  of  a  lifetime  to  the  Church. 

But  aside''  from  the  strength  and  learning  which 
were  so  admirably  apparent  in  the  class-room,  there 
was  another  great  quality  which  is  not  always  found 
in  combination  with  these.  It  was  an  exquisite  ten- 
derness and  affectionateness  of  disposition,  which  ren- 
dered him  acutely  sensible  to  pleasure  or  to  pain. 
Never  have  we  known  a  man  in  advanced  years  more 
easily  touched  by  the  sight  of  another's  sorrow,  more 
easily  melted  into  kindness  at  the  tale  of  another's  dis- 
tress, more  freely  generous  in  supplying  the  necessi- 
ties of  those  who  were  in  want.     Many  of  the  clergy 


EEV.   DR.   TURNER.  277 

now  serving  in  the  vineyard  can  tell  of  acts  of  quick 
and  open-handed  liberality  which  they  experienced  at 
his  hand,  when  struggling  with  early  poverty  in  their 
efforts  to  qualify  themselves  for  their  high  and  holy 
calling — acts  which  will  endear  him  to  them  as  long 
as  memory  holds  her  seat. 

Bnt  he  has  at  length  gone  to  his  rest.  The  intimate 
personal  friend  of  Bishop  White ;  bearing  the  stamp 
of  the  earlier  generation  of  American  Churchmen  in 
many  things ;  long  the  colleague  of  the  departed  Dr. 
Wilson,  and  the  yet  surviving  Dr.  Moore,  in  an  Insti- 
tution which  they  all  loved  and  served,  but  which  he 
was  the  first  to  join  and  the  last  to  leave ;  his  depar- 
ture removes  one  of  the  oldest  of  the  landmarks  from 
among  us ;  and  of  all  those,  his  sons  in  the  Gospel, 
who  stand  about  his  grave  to-day,  and  of  all  who  hear 
of  it  at  a  distance  too  great  to  permit  their  presence  in 
the  body,  there  is  not  one  that  will  not  grieve  over  a 
father  and  a  friend ;  they  will  grieve,  not  that  he  has 
gone  home  to  receive  his  reward,  but  that  they,  on 
earth,  shall  see  his  face  no  more. 


III. 

From,  the  Church  Journal. 

"  The  funeral  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Turner  spoke  deeply 
of  the  mingled  affection  and  reverence  with  which  he 
was  regarded  by  all  who  had  passed  under  his  training 
hand.  The  nave  of  St.  Peter's  was  nearly  filled  with 
a  congregation  mainly  made  up  of  Alumni  of  the  Sem- 
inary, other  clergy  and  students.    The  day  was  Christ- 


278  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

mas  Eve,  and  when  it  is  remembered  how  pressing  are 
the  calls  of  every  parish  at  such  a  time  on  the  care 
and  attention  of  the  clergy,  it  was  no  slight  tribute  to 
see  so  many  of  them  gathered  together,  and  not  a  few 
were  those  who  had  come  from  a  distance  on  purpose 
to  be  present.  The  procession  entered  the  church,  led 
by  the  Bishop  of  New- York,  the  Faculty  of  the  Sem- 
inary, and  the  Rector  of  St.  Peter's  Church." 

The  services  were  conducted  by  Professors 
Johnson  and  Mahan  and  the  Rector  of  St. 
Peter's  Church,  and  the  following  address  was 
delivered  by  the  Bishop : 

"  How  strangely  the  lights  and  shadows  of  this  our 
mortal  life  are  intermingled  I  "We  find  ourselves  to- 
day in  the  midst  of  the  holy  place  already  decorated 
with  its  festive  green — with  its  symbols  of  joy  and  im- 
mortality ;  but  we  come  in  the  train  of  death,  in  the 
character  of  mourners.  We  suspend  the  preparation 
for  our  Christmas  song,  that  we  may  perform  the  fune- 
ral rites  over  the  mortal  remains  of  our  departed  bro- 
ther. 

"  And  yet  all  is  well !  To  us  the  loss  is  great. 
But  this  is  a  death  in  which  there  is  no  gloom.  The 
good  and  faithful  man,  who  has  gone  from  us,  had 
passed  the  threescore  years  and  ten.  His  ministry 
had  very  nearly  reached  to  the  half  of  a  century.  His 
labors,  in  the  great  duty  to  which  he  had  dedicated  his 
life,  had  been  extended  beyond  the  usual  term  of  ac- 
tive service  for  one  generation.  He  had  lived  to  hear 
again  the  Advent  call :  '  Now  it  is  high  time  to  awake 
out  of  sleep ;    for  now  is  our  salvation  nearer  than 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  279 

when  we  believed.'  c  The  night  is  far  spent,  the  day 
is  at  hand.'  He  had  preached  in  yonder  familiar 
Chapel  (the  place  that  had  known  him  so  long,  but 
shall  know  him  no  more)  his  earnest,  tender  Advent 
sermon — the  Lord's  coming  to  'sit  as  a  Refiner  and 
Purifier  of  silver.'  He  had  introduced  another  band 
of  youthful  pupils  into  the  study  of  the  holy  Gospels. 
He  had  led  them  far  on  their  way.  He  remained  long 
enough  to  see  the  East  beginning  to  glow  with  the  light 
of  the  coming  Nativity;  and  then  gently,  quickly, 
almost  as  it  were  by  stealth,  he  departed  to  be  with 
Christ ;  not  staying  to  celebrate  his  birth  here  again 
amid  the  infirmities  of  the  flesh  and  the  shadows  of 
this  lower  world — not  waiting  to  gaze  once  more  with 
^Fthe  dim  eye  of  faith  upon  the  far-off  manger  of  Beth- 
lehem, but  exalted  suddenly  to  the  blessed  privilege 
of  being  delivered  from  the  burden  of  the  flesh,  that 
he  might  be  forever  'in  joy  and  felicity  with  God.' 

"It  is  not  often  that  we  are  allowed  to  stand  at  a 
closing  scene  so  full  of  all  that  can  give  a  Christian 
content.  It  is  not  often  that  we  have  the  privilege  of 
looking  back  upon  a  life  which  has  been  so  singularly 
favored  with  opportunities  of  usefulness,  and  in  which 
those  opportunities  have  been  so  faithfully  and  so 
largely  improved.  Forty -three  years  ago  our  departed 
friend  began  to  be  employed  in  giving  instruction  to 
candidates  for  the  sacred  ministry,  and  from  that  dis- 
tant day  to  the  present  time  his  name  has  been  con- 
spicuously associated  with  theological  education  in  the 
Church  in  this  country.  His  pupils  are  numerously 
dispersed  through  every  diocese  of  the  Union ;  and  I 
think  I  may  confidently  afiirm  that  there  is  not  one 


280  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

among  them  all  who  does  not  look  back  to  his  kind, 
paternal  care  with  gratitude,  to  his  character  as  a 
Christian  gentleman,  scholar,  and  teacher  with  affec- 
tion and  reverence.  If  you  wish  to  see  his  monuments, 
look  around  at  the  ministry  of  the  Church  in  this 
country.  If  you  wish  to  listen  to  his  eulogy,  go  visit 
any  one  of  the  four  or  five  hundred  of  Christian  pas- 
tors whom  he  has  assisted  in  preparing  for  the  Office 
and  Work  of  a  Priest  in  the  Church  of  Cod,  and  you 
will  hear  him  pronounce  with  deep  feeling,  that  the 
days  passed  by  him  in  the  General  Theological  Semi- 
nary were  among  the  pleasantest  and  most  profitable 
of  his  life,  and  that  no  small  share  of  the  pleasure  and 
profit  of  those  days  was  due  to  the  faithful  and  pleas- 
ant instruction,  to  the  kind  bearing,  the  judicious  ad-^ 
vice,  the  bright  sunny  character  of  the  Professor  of 
Biblical  Learning  and  Interpretation  of  Scripture. 

"  It  is  now  a  little  more  than  thirty -five  years  since 
I  came  to  this  city,  almost  a  stranger,  glowing  with 
youthful  ardor  in  the  pursuit  of  knowledge,  full  of  the 
hopes  and  fears  with  which  every  young  man  of  any 
reflection  must  look  forward  to  the  work  of  the  sacred 
ministry,  and  presented  myself  first  to  the  Eev.  Dr. 
Turner,  to  be  examined  and  admitted  into  the  Semi- 
nary. The  impression  of  his  kindness,  of  the  cheer- 
ful courtesy  and  benignity  of  his  manner,  can  never 
be  effaced  from  my  heart.  At  that  early  day  I  was 
privileged  to  see  him  frequently  in  his  own  house — a 
house  not  yet  darkened  by  sorrow — a  house  brighten- 
ed by  the  presence  of  one  whose  person  and  manners 
shed  a  grace  and  a  charm  over  every  thing  about  her. 
Through  all  the  changeful  years  that  have  passed 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  281 

since  that  period,  that  cheerful,  Christian  home  has 
been  a  solace  and  a  refreshment  to  many  a  youthful 
student  when  weary,  lonely,  and  discouraged.  It  has 
been  to  many  a  young  man  an  image  of  what  a  Christ- 
ian home  should  be,  and  may  be,  and  at  the  same 
time  it  has  warmed  the  heart  to  a  more  fervent  love 
of  the  beauty  of  holiness.  It  is  not  for  me  to  attempt 
to  give  utterance  to  the  feelings  of  his  Pupils  now 
present.  They  have  lost  a  Friend,  a  Father,  a  beloved 
Teacher,  all  in  one.  They  will  cherish  the  memory  of 
his  virtues,  of  his  earnest,  affectionate  faithfulness; 
and  they  will  endeavor  to  show  themselves  worthy  to 
have  been  his  pupils  by  striving  to  be  followers  to- 
gether of  him,  and  to  walk  so  as  they  have  him  for 
an  ensample.  To  speak  in  detail  of  the  learning  and 
the  labors  of  our  departed  Brother,  of  his  published 
writings,  of  the  influence  of  his  life  on  theological  edu- 
cation in  this  country,  and  of  his  usefulness  in  other 
departments  of  Christian  enterprise,  would  be  unsuit- 
ed  to  the  solemnities  of  this  hour,  as  it  would  be  to 
undertake  a  task  altogether  too  great  for  the  opportu- 
nities afforded  by  this  unexpected  summons. 

"  Nor,  my  brethren,  is  there  any  need  that  I  enlarge 
upon  the  lesson  to  be  read  in  this  event.  'Let  me 
die.  the  death  of  the  righteous,  and  let  my  last  end 
be  like  his.'  Let  my  last  look  backward  over  the 
life  rest  upon  a  record  as  pure,  as  blameless,  as  full  of 
the  beauty  of  holiness,  as  full  of  trust  in  the  blessed 
Redeemer,  and  as  useful  as  did  his.  'Blessed  are 
the  dead  who  die  in  the  Lord.  Even  so  saith  the 
Spirit,  for  they  rest  from  their  labors,  and  their  works 
do  follow  them.'      We  need  not  repine  nor  grieve 


282  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

that  he  rests  in  peace,  that  he  has  been  delivered  from 
the  burden  of  the  flesh,  that  he  has  been  '  taken  away 
from  the  evil  to  come,'  that  he  has  been  advanced  to 
the  companionship  of  the  blessed,  that  he  is  ever  in 
joy  and  felicity  with  God.  Look,  my  brethren,  upon 
that  coffin,  and  you  shall  see  there  such  a  promise  of 
peace  and  blessedness  as  you  can  not  see  out  amid  the 
fiery  passions  and  huge  convulsions  of  the  world.  May 
that  peace  and  that  blessedness  be  ours  in  the  hour  of 
death,  in  the  day  of  judgment,  and  through  all  the 
life  that  comes  after  the  judgment." 

On  Christmas  afternoon  the  remains,  accompanied 
by  the  family  and  the  Rev.  Professor  Johnson,  were 
conveyed  to  New-Haven,  where  they  were  received  by 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Harwood,  and  borne  to  Trinity  Church, 
in  which  they  remained  all  night  long.  The  next 
morning  the  journey  to  Cheshire,  Connecticut,  was 
resumed,  where  a  company  of  clergy  and  friends  re- 
ceived the  body,  and  it  was  laid  to  rest  beside  the 
grave  of  his  departed  wife,  who  preceded  him  many 
years,  but  whose  name,  even  to  the  last,  he  could 
never  mention  without  tears. 

After  the  funeral,  on  Christmas  Eve,  a  meeting  of 
the  clergy  present  was  held,  presided  over  by  the  Bish- 
op, of  which  the  following  is  the  official  record : 

St.  Peter's  Church,  New-York,  December  24,  1861. 

The  Clergy  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in 
the  Diocese  of  New- York,  in  attendance  at  the  funeral 
of  the  Rev.  Samuel  H.  Turner,  D.D.,  Professor  of 
Biblical  Learning  and  of  the  Interpretation  of  Scrip- 
ture in  the  General  Theological  Seminary,  met  after 
the  service  this  day  in  St.  Peter's  Church. 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  283 

The  Eight  Eev.  Horatio  Potter,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  D.C.L., 

Bishop  of  the  Diocese,  was  called  to  the  Chair,  and  the 
Eev.  Thomas  M.  Peters  was  appointed  Secretary. 
On  motion  of  the  Eev.  Dr.  McYickar,  it  was 

Resolved,  That  the  Chair  be  requested  to  appoint  a 
Committee  of  five,  who  shall  prepare  and  publish,  in 
the  minutes  of  the  proceedings,  resolutions  expressive 
of  the  sense  of  this  meeting  respecting  the  decease  of 
the  Eev.  Dr.  Turner. 

The  Chair  appointed  as  their  Committee,  the  Eev. 
Thomas  H.  Taylor,  D.D.,  Eev.  John  McYickar,  D.D., 
Eev.  William  E.  Eigenbrodt,  D.D.,  Eev.  Alexander  H. 
Vinton,  D.D.,  Eev.  Eobert  S.  Howland. 

The  resolutions  are  as  follows  : 

Resolved,  That  in  the  death  of  the  Eev.  Samuel 
Hulbeart  Turner,  D.D.,  Professor  of  Biblical  Learning 
and  the  Interpretation  of  Scripture  in  the  General 
Theological  Seminary  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church  in  the  United  States  of  America,  we  mourn 
the  loss  of  a  brother  of  the  most  endearing  qualities, 
and  of  an  eminent  servant  of  the  Most  High  God, 
whose  pure  character  and  rare  learning  had  long  ex- 
erted a  wide  influence  for  the  highest  and  best  ends. 

Resolved,  That  we  recognize  it  as  a  cause  for  grate- 
ful praise  to  God,  that  in  his  wise  goodness  he  should 
have  blessed  his  Church,  through  so  many  years  of 
time,  with  the  bright  example  of  a  minister  of  his 
Word  so  beautifully  fitted  for  the  delicate  and  import- 
ant duties  with  which  he  was  charged. 

Resolved,  That  while  standing  around  his  breathless 
remains,  we  will  implore  the  Divine  grace  to  enable  us 


284  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

to  emulate  the  virtues  by  which  his  character  was  en- 
riched, and  which  still  seem  to  shed  their  gentle,  ge- 
nial, and  improving  influence  around  us.  Let  us  im- 
plore the  Divine  grace  to  enable  us  to  be  pure  as  he 
was  pure,  always  loving,  gentle,  beneficent,  and  true ; 
always  meeting  the  ever-recurring  calls  of  duty  with 
promptness,  punctuality,  and  cheerfulness,  and  never 
coming  behind  time  in  answer  to  the  cry  for  instruc- 
tion from  the  ignorant,  for  counsel  from  the  young, 
and  for  comfort  from  the  miserable.  May  we  be  ena- 
bled to  give  ourselves  diligently,  as  he  throughout  his 
long  life  gave  himself  devoutly,  "  to  the  reading  of 
the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  to  such  studies  as  help  to  a 
knowledge  of  the  same;"  and  may  we  always,  in 
meekness  and  single-hearted  love  of  the  truth,  conse- 
crate, as  he  did,  the  best  fruits  of  our  laborious  learn- 
ing to  the  cause  of  righteousness  and  charity  in  the 
world.  While,  like  him,  we  hold  fast  with  unwaver- 
ing steadiness  and  consistency  to  our  own  enlightened 
convictions  of  what  is  right  and  true,  yet  in  opposing 
the  opinions  of  others,  may  we,  like  the  learned  man 
whose  loss  we  deplore,  "let  our  moderation  be  known 
unto  all  men." 

Like  him  may  we  always  cherish  the  great  truth  of 
"  Jesus  Christ  and  him  crucified,"  as  being,  above  all 
things  else,  near  and  dear  to  our  hearts  ;  and  may  we, 
like  him,  strive  to  show  forth  the  constraining  power 
of  this  our  faith,  by  our  weariless  works  of  love,  even 
unto  our  life's  end. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  sent  to 
the  family  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Turner,  with  the  assurance 
of  the  sympathy  of  this  meeting  in  their  bereavement. 


EEV.   DR.  TURNER.  285 

On  motion  of  the  Eev.  Dr.  Eigenbrodt,  it  was 

Resolved,  That  the  Rev.  Samuel  K.  Johnson,  D.D., 
Professor  of  Systematic  Divinity  in  the  General  Theo- 
logical Seminary,  be  requested  to  prepare  a  discourse 
commemorative  of  the  Eev.  Dr.  Turner,  and  to  deliver 
the  same  at  such  time  and  place  as  the  Faculty  may 
determine.  # 

Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  of  this  meeting  be  re- 
quested to  give  the  clergy  notice  of  such  arrangement 
as  the  Faculty  may  make  for  the  occasion. 

The  meeting  then  adjourned. 

T.  M.  Peters,  Secretary. 

Appropriate  resolutions  were  also  passed  by 
the  "  Vestry  of  St.  Peter's  Church,"  by  the 
Alumni  Association  of  the  Seminary,  by  the 
Protestant  Episcopal  Society  for  the  Promotion 
of  Religion  and  Learning,  and  by  other  bodies, 
which  are  not  inserted  in  the  following  record  : 

The  Faculty  of  the  Seminary. 

At  a  special  meeting  of  the  Faculty  of  the  General 
Theological  Seminary,  December  twenty-third,  1861, 
on  occasion  of  the  lamented  decease^  after  a  brief  ill- 
ness, of  the  Rev.  Samuel  H.  Turner,  D.D.,  the  late 
venerable  Professor  of  Biblical  Learning  and  the  In- 
terpretation of  Scripture,  and  Dean  of  the  Faculty,  it 
was,  on  motion, 

Resolved,  That,  in  the  departure  of  our  reverend 
and  beloved  colleague  in  the  fullness  of  his  age  and 


286  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

wisdom  and  unblemished  piety,  we  deplore  the  loss  to 
the  Church  of  one  of  her  ripest  scholars  and  most  de- 
voted sons,  at  a  time  when  his  unimpaired  vigor  of 
mind  promised  still  many  years  of  efficient  service ; 
that  the  Seminary,  in  particular,  sustains  a  loss  diffi- 
cult to  be  repaired,  in  one  whose  long,  and  faithful, 
and  disinterested  service  of  forty-three  years  has  been 
distinguished  bf  &  thorough  mastery  of  the  rich  and 
varied  learning  of  his  department,  by  instructions 
which  have  borne  fruit  in  the  life  and  doctrine  of 
many  of  our  most  able  clergy,  by  solid  contributions 
to  the  stores  of  sacred  literature,  by  unswerving  loy- 
alty to  the  cause  of  truth,  and  by  a  soundness  of  judg- 
ment in  the  discharge  of  his  official  duties,  with  a 
kindness,  charity,  courtesy,  and  sprightly  and  ge- 
nial humor,  which  have  endeared  his  memory  to  all 
who  have  been  brought  into  contact  with  him ;  that 
the  Faculty  lament  the  loss  of  a  colleague,  brother, 
friend,  and  father,  beloved  for  his  guileless  goodness 
of  heart,  revered  for  his  pure  and  undeuled  religion ; 
that,  in  memory  of  all  this,  with  humble  submission 
to  the  Divine  will,  and  with  hearty  thanks  to  God  for 
the  good  example  afforded  in  the  life  of  our  departed 
brother,  we  tender  our  cordial  sympathy  to  his  be- 
reaved family. 


The  Standing  Committee  of  the  Seminary. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Standing  Committee  of  the 
General  Theological  Seminary,  convened  in  the  chapel 
of  the  Seminary  on  Tuesday,  December  twenty-fourth, 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  287 

A.D.  1861,  upon  the  death  of  the  Senior  Professor,  the 
Eev.  Samuel  H.  Turner,  D.D.,  the  following  resolu- 
tions were  unanimously  passed : 

Resolved,  That  the  Standing  Committee  of  the  Gen- 
eral Theological  Seminary,  in  the  name  and  on  the 
behalf  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  do  hereby  express 
their  deep  sense  of  the  loss  sustained  by  them  and  by 
the  Seminary  in  the  removal  by  death  of  the  venera- 
ble and  Kev.  Samuel  Hulbeart  Turner,  D.D.,  Professor 
of  Biblical  Learning  and  the  Interpretation  of  Scrip- 
ture, and,  for  the  current  academical  year,  Dean  of 
the  Faculty  and  Chaplain  of  the  Seminary. 

Resolved,  That  the  long  and  faithful  services  of  Pro- 
fessor Turner,  both  in  government  and  instruction, 
during  the  life-long  period  of  more  than  forty-three 
years,  demand  from  the  Trustees  the  strongest  expres- 
sion of  regret  and  reverence,  and  the  acknowledgment 
that  his  removal  at  the  present  time,  even  at  the  ad- 
vanced age  of  seventy-two  years,  is  felt  by  them  as 
a  severe  blow  to  the  Institution  over  which  they 
preside. 

Resolved,  That  the  Trustees  do  now  look  back  in 
thankfulness  to  the  great  Head  of  the  Church  that 
this  distinguished  Biblical  scholar  and  teacher  was  so 
long  spared  to  academic  duties,  alike  learned  and 
laborious,  and  in  age  pursued  by  him  through  many 
years  of  feeble  health  with  a  perseverance  and  self- 
denial  of  repose  which  nothing  but  the  untiring  zeal 
of  a  Christian  spirit  in  the  duties  of  his  station  could 
have  supported  him  under. 

Resolved,  That  in  memory  of  one  whose  name  has 
been  from  its  foundation  identified  with  the  Seminary, 


288  AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF 

its  earliest  and  oldest  professor,  it  be  recommended  to 
the  Trustees  that  a  suitable  marble  tablet  expressing 
the  same  be  placed  on  the  walls  of  the  Seminary 
chapel. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  the  above  resolutions  be 
addressed  by  the  Secretary  of  this  meeting  to  the  fam- 
ily of  Professor  Turner,  with  the  expression  of  the 
deep  sympathy  of  the  Trustees ;  and  that,  farther, 
copies  be  furnished  to  the  several  Church  papers  for 
insertion,  with  a  view  to  bring  the  same  to  the  know- 
ledge of  absent  Trustees,  and  to  the  Church  generally 
throughout  our  country. 

Attest.  W.  Walton,  Secretary  pro  tern. 


The  Foreign  Committee. 

Extract  from  Minutes  of  a  Special  Meeting  of  the 
Foreign  Committee,  held  on  the  twenty-fourth  of  De- 
cember, 1861 : 

Whereas,  Our  Heavenly  Father  has  been  pleased, 
in  His  wisdom,  to  take  away  from  us,  by  death,  our 
revered  friend  and  senior  member  of  this  Committee, 
the  late  Kev.  Samuel  H.  Turner,  D.D. ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  1.  That  while,  with  the  other  members  of 
our  Church,  we  deplore  the  great  loss  which  is  com- 
mon to  us  all,  we  are  nevertheless  truly  grateful  to 
our  Heavenly  Father  that  the  Church  was  permitted 
to  enjoy  so  long,  in  the  person  of  our  deceased  friend, 
the  admirable  example  of  kindness,  sincerity,  and  up- 
rightness which  distinguished  him  as  a  man ;  of  earn- 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  289 

estness,  spirituality,  devotion,  and  faith,  which  char- 
acterized him  as  a  Christian ;  and  of  fidelity  to  the 
truth  of  Christ  which  marked  his  whole  career  as  a 
theological  teacher.  We  are  grateful  that  he  lived  so 
long  as  to  witness  the  large  benefits  of  his  labors,  in 
the  character  and  success  of  many  who,  through  a 
term  of  more  than  forty  >years,  had  passed  from  his 
faithful  training  into  the  ministry  of  the  Gospel,  and 
who  were  ever  ready  to  call  him  blessed  ;  and  that  at 
last,  when  his  piety  had  grown  constantly  with  his 
years,  and  with  \his  faculties  undimmed,  and  his  use- 
fulness unabated,  he  was  gathered  to  his  fathers  "like 
a  shock  of  corn,  fully  ripe." 

2.  That  we  mourn  for  our  departed  friend  specially, 
as  a  member  of  this  Committee,  who  exhibited  always 
the  truest  zeal  for  the  Missionary  work,  whose  coun- 
sels were  always  wise,  his  measures  discreet,  and  his 
policy  just  and  clear.  We  lament  him  as  one  who 
habitually  presided  over  our  deliberations,  and  in 
whose  right-mindedness  and  impartiality  we  could 
always  confide,  and  whose  dignified  simplicity  made 
him  revered  as  well  as  beloved. 

3.  That  as  the  only  demonstration  we  can  now 
make  of  our  reverence  for  his  memory,  this  Commit- 
tee will  proceed  as  a  body  to  attend  the  funeral  of  our 
deceased  friend  and  fellow  member. 

4.  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  serrt  to  the 
family  of  the  late  Dr.  Turner,  with  the  expression  of 
our  joint  and  earnest  sympathy. 

Copy  from  Record. 

S.  D.  Denison, 

Secretary  and  General  Agent. 

December  28th,  1861. 
13 


290  AUTOBIOGRAPHY   OF 

The  Students  of  the  Seminary. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Students  of  the  General  Theo- 
logical Seminary,  held  December  thirtieth,  1861,  the 
following  preamble  and  resolutions  were  adopted : 

Whereas,    It    hath   pleased  Almighty   God   to   re 
move  our  beloved  and  honored  Professor  of  Biblical 
Learning  and   Interpretation  of  Scripture,   the  Rev. 
Samuel  H.  Turner,  D.D.,  from  the  scene  of  his  earth- 
ly labors  to  the  glory  of  his  eternal  reward : 

Resolved,  That  in  his  death  we  are  bereft  of  an  able, 
faithful,  and  conscientious  guide  in  the  path  of  Sacred 
Learning,  and  do  mourn  the  sad  vacancy  now  caused 
in  the  department  which  he  so  long  and  so  ably  filled. 

Resolved,  That  while  acknowledging  and  bowing  in 
due  submission  to  God's  providence  in  this  peculiar 
affliction,  we  are  consoled  and  cheered  by  the  memory 
of  his  long  and  meritorious  labors  in  the  promotion  ot 
Biblical  Learning,  by  his  uniform  consistency  and 
exemplary  conduct  as  a  minister  of  God,  by  his  emi- 
nent and  valuable  services  as  a  teacher  of  Theological 
truth,  and  by  the  comfortable  assurance  that  he  has 
made  a  blessed  exchange  from  time  to  eternity. 

Resolved,  That  we  sympathize  deeply  with  the 
Church  in  this  removal  of  one  of  her  most  distin- 
guished members,  with  our  city  and  country  for  the 
loss  of  a  true  and  faithful  son  of  the  Republic,  with 
the  Seminary  for  the  loss  of  its  oldest  and  earliest 
Professor,  his  name  being  identified  with  its  very  ori- 
gin, and  with  the  bereaved  family  who  have  so  long 
been  cheered  by  his  presence,  strengthened  by  his 
counsels,  and  encouraged  by  his  example. 


REV.   DR.   TURNER.  291 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  pre- 
sented to  the  family  of  our  honored  and  lamented 
Professor,  feeling  that  in  their  loss  we  also  have  lost 
a  friend  and  a  father. 

Resolved,  That,  in  testimony  of  our  profound  re- 
gard for  the  person  and  character  of  the  deceased,  we 
wear  the  usual  badge  of  mourning  for  thirty  days. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  com- 
municated to  the  leading  Church  papers. 

GL  A.  Weeks,         1 

0.  W.  Whitaker,  >-  Committee, 

H.  H.  Cole,  J 


The  American   Bible  Society, 

At  the  stated  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Managers  of 
the  American  Bible  Society,  held  January  second,  the 
Hon.  Luther  Bradish,  Yice-President,  presiding,  the 
Eev.  Dr.  Brigham  announced  the  decease,  since  the 
previous  meeting,  of  the  Kev.  Samuel  H.  Turner, 
D.D.,  who  for  a  long  time  had  been  a  Life-Director  of 
the  Society,  and  a  member  of  its  Committee  on  Ver- 
sions ;  whereupon  it  was 

Resolved,  That  a  Special  Committee  be  appointed  to 
prepare  a  suitable  record  of  the  event. 

The  Chair  appointed  the  Hon.  Walter  Lowrie,  and 
the  Bev.  Lot  Jones,  D.D.,  who,  before  the  close  of  the 
meeting,  submitted  the  following  preamble  and  resolu- 
tions, which  were  unanimously  adopted : 

Whereas,  In  the  dispensation  of  Divine  Provi- 
dence, the  Bev.  Samuel  H.  Turner,  D.D.,  has  been  re- 


292        AUTOBIOGRAPHY  OF   REV.   DR.  TURNER. 

moved  by  death,  the  Board  of  Managers  of  the  Amer 
ican  Bible  Society  desire  to  place  on  record  its  appre- 
ciation of  his  character  and  services ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  1st,  That  in  all  his  relations  to  the  Ameri- 
can Bible  Society,  especially  in  his  services  for  many 
years  as  an  efficient  member  of  the  Committee  on 
Versions,  the  deceased,  by  his  uniform  and  consistent 
course,  won  the  confidence  and  secured  the  esteem 
and  love  of  all  with  whom  he  was  thus  called  to 
associate. 

2d.  That  this  Board  cordially  sympathize  with  the 
family  of  the  deceased,  in  the  great  loss  it  has  sustain- 
ed in  the  death  of  one  so  deservedly  beloved  and 
revered. 

3d.  That  the  foregoing  preamble  and  resolutions  be 
entered  on  the  record  of  the  -Board  of  Managers,  and 
a  copy  thereof  be  transmitted  to  the  family  of  the 
deceased. 

(From  the  Minutes.) 

Caleb  T.  Eowe, 

Recording  Secretary. 


DATE  DUE 


iAmm± 


GAYLORD 


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